ESG: A call for corporate ownership and responsibility
In today’s rapidly evolving ESG landscape, companies face mounting pressure from investors, regulators, and stakeholders to prioritise sustainability.
ESG’s critical role in corporate operations
Corporations are uniquely positioned to tackle Environmental, Social, and Governance challenges at scale. They control the capital, talent, and reach required to reduce emissions, reinvent supply chains, and prove impact.
With the climate crisis demanding immediate action, ESG performance is now table stakes for maintaining a social licence to operate. Reduce carbon footprints, adopt sustainable practices, disclose results — or risk losing investment, customers, and credibility.
Being a force for positive change
Small and medium-sized enterprises alone represent more than 90% of the business population, 60–70% of jobs, and 55% of GDP across developed economies (WTO, 2016). That scale means corporate actors can accelerate solutions faster than government policy alone.
Attitudes differ globally — Europe continues to lead on mandatory disclosures while parts of the U.S. dismiss ESG as “woke capitalism.” But climate impacts and market expectations are forcing the same conclusion: the debate is over, and action wins.
ESG regulation: A growing landscape
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) sets a new bar for transparency, requiring thousands of companies to disclose detailed sustainability information — with SMEs following within three years.
Germany’s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act goes further by assigning accountability for every tier of the supply chain. Business leaders can no longer treat ESG as a side project; accountability spans the entire value chain.
ESG opportunity: A lens for growth and innovation
Forward-looking companies treat ESG as a growth lever. Efficiency gains, product innovation, and deeper stakeholder trust all flow to the organisations that own their impact end to end.
Double materiality will soon be the expectation, making materiality assessments non‑negotiable. Try Drova’s Double Materiality Assessment software for free to see how quickly you can benchmark issues, prioritise investments, and prove progress.
ESG isn’t just a responsibility — it’s how leaders drive innovation, resilience, and a more equitable economy.
Use Drova’s Double Materiality Assessment to map stakeholder expectations, prioritise the work, and show your board the evidence.
