Businesses are faced with increasing pressure to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting into their practices and business models. The pressure comes from multiple stakeholders. According to a recent poll, 88 percent of institutional investors put ESG on par with operational and financial considerations when making investment decisions; 60 percent of employees choose a place to work based on their beliefs and values, while 58 percent of consumers buy or advocate for brands based who match their beliefs.
While many of the world’s biggest corporations are now committed to shifting their practices to address this mounting pressure, we should not overlook what is happening beyond these headlines, namely, how the less-visible SME and mid-sized enterprise segment of the economy is approaching this. According to the International Labour Organization, they represent 90 percent of all firms globally, contribute to roughly 70 percent of employment, and drive up to 70 percent of global GDP. Read more…
