Integrate sustainable development into business strategy

The discourse on climate change and social justice issues is not new: the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment, an international network dedicated to the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in investment decision-making, has nearly 5,000 participating financial institutions. In early 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed groundbreaking rules requiring public companies to disclose information about their carbon emissions data (Scope 1 and Scope 2) and emissions data carbon emissions from supply chain networks and customers (Scope 3).

As U.S. regulators finalize national emissions disclosure requirements, the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is in effect, requiring nearly 50,000 companies to regularly report on their sustainability. At the same time, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) launched global disclosure standards to help guide companies on the sustainability information they should report to global investors and will allow companies and investors to standardize on a unique global reference base. “We need to start acting, and we need to start acting now,” says Rémy Bos, global director of sustainability at Oracle. “New laws and regulations are multiplying, and some have already been implemented,” he says. This requires careful collection and analysis of vast volumes of data.

“Climate and sustainable development initiatives help the planet and generate value for businesses, but not if they increase social inequalities. Organizations must ensure that they engage in a decarbonization process, but also ensure that the impact of this decarbonization process is fair and equitable, that it is a just transition. says Simmonds.

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