What is ESG?

Our business, like every business, is deeply intertwined with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns.

The E in ESG, environmental criteria, includes the energy your company takes in and the waste it discharges, the resources it needs, and the consequences for living beings as a result.

Not least, E encompasses carbon emissions and climate change. Every company uses energy and resources; every company affects, and is affected by, the environment.

Most significant E factors:

S, social criteria, addresses the relationships your company has and the reputation it fosters with people and institutions in the communities where you do business.

S includes labor relations and diversity and inclusion. Every company operates within a broader, diverse society.

Most significant S factors:

Health & Safety
Diversity, Equality & Inclusion
Human Rights
Working conditions
Data security

G, governance, is the internal system of practices, controls, and procedures your company adopts in order to govern itself, make effective decisions, comply with the law, and meet the needs of external stakeholders.

Every company, which is itself a legal creation, requires governance.

Most significant G factors:

Business Ethics & Compliance
Corporate Governance
Communities & Corporate Citizenship
Bribery & corruption
Accounting & taxes
Risk Management

How does ESG differ from sustainability?

The main difference between ESG and sustainability is that ESG sets specific criteria to define environmental, social, and governance systems as sustainable. As we know, in a business context, sustainability may mean different things to different entities and is applied as an umbrella term of doing good.

Want to know more?

Article published in SSW Magazine (August 2022)

“Carbon neutral by 2050 – How Aperam leads the way to sustainbaility”