ESG Transformational Change: From Theory To Practice

Client expectations and regulation have changed at a pace and to a depth that couldn’t have been anticipated. What was market leading two years ago is market baseline today. Many organisations who already had plans to evolve their ESG & Responsible Investment capabilities are realising they need to accelerate and aim higher in what they are trying to achieve.

Those who will remain relevant are investing substantial sums in transforming their whole organisation, and it is crucial that those investments target the right outcomes and achieve them efficiently across Corporate Strategy, Clients, Investments, Regulation, and their Foundations.

Our proprietary ESG & Responsible Investment transformation framework takes a whole-of-organisation approach, informed by our extensive experience in delivering strategic, large-scale change with investment managers.

To achieve success, every team in your organisation must pull in the same direction under a common vision.

You need to understand where you are today, and define how you want to differentiate yourself from your peers, with input and buy-in across your core functions from the outset. We have created a market benchmarking framework that assesses organisations from ‘limited’ to ‘aspirational’ across our 5 dimensions, including:

Regardless of the size of your ambition, the pace at which the market is evolving means that investment in flexibility is required, in addition to achieving the defined target state. To future-proof your investment embedding ESG & Responsible Investment in your organisation’s foundations is crucial:

• Define the data strategy and technology architecture to support ESG integration at scale
• Build your data analytics & reporting platform to deliver insights efficiently and at scale to thousands of clients
• Harmonise minimum standards of compliance across jurisdictions
• Grow capability in your people across the relevant functions in your organisation
• Monitor outcomes achieved against evolving market standards

Understanding how you rank against your peers and defining the key principles to underpin your vision is key to setting the right priorities and executing against them. If you want to understand how your organisation compares to the market, you can contact us for an initial conversation.