ALVA
Februar y 2021
ESG IN
REAL TIME Alberto Lopez Valenzuela, Founder and CEO, alva, highlights how Covid-19 has generated business dynamism towards ESG
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n the latter half of 2020, we have seen a serious return of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues to the corporate agenda. Indeed, one lasting legacy that this pandemic has left on corporates could be ESG.
But it didn’t always look like it would be this way. During the depths of the first lockdown, businesses immediately focused on navigating the huge challenges of the crisis, fighting to continue their operations and adapting to remote working. At the time, it looked as though there would be an almost permanent move away from broader concerns such as climate change and diversity – which made sense at the time.
A POSITIVE SHIFT However, since July, a surprising shift has occurred. alva’s own research has found that ESG-focused corporate announcements have leapt out of nowhere to become permanently listed in the ranking of the top eight news stories. We’ve seen UK supermarket Waitrose’s announcement that it will remove unnecessary plastic packaging in this year’s Christmas ranges, alongside fellow retailer Tesco’s pledge for a 300 percent sales increase in meat alternatives within five years. What has driven this shift? My view is that Covid-19 has forced businesses to reassess and make drastic changes.
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This need for change, combined with the social and environmental shortcomings of previous models, has created an environment in which businesses are now readily turning their dynamism towards ESG. COVID-19 has broken the rut of ‘business as usual’, and with companies reassessing the future, ESG is standing out as a core priority for many. But already we are beginning to see a phase two in this shift, one that I believe is being driven by stakeholders who are asking for much more from their companies.
COVID-19 has broken the rut of ‘business as usual’, and with companies reassessing the future, ESG is standing out as a core priority for many
STAKEHOLDER PRESSURE And as these stakeholder expectations increase, ESG is beginning to look like a virtual arms race between firms
I FAmagazine.com
