Awareness about environmental, social and governance among middle market companies is greater than ever, RSM US Middle Market Business Index data shows. But translating awareness into action is more difficult, says 安东尼DeCandido, an RSM partner and senior financial services analyst whose specialties include helping midsize organizations develop 环境、社会和治理 strategies.
“在中端vwin娱乐场官方, it’s rare that someone is defined as an 环境、社会和治理 or sustainability officer,他说. “Somebody is doing this in between their day job.”
通常, a company’s chief financial officer, marketing leader or human resources representative is assigned to carry the ball. DeCandido and his team can work with that individual to develop an 环境、社会和治理 baseline by aggregating existing data from the company’s cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, 人力vwin娱乐场官方数据, supply chain records and the like, as well as from interviews with business unit leaders, suppliers and customers. Along with comparative information from other businesses in the space—the bulk of which is gleaned from public company disclosures—this creates a wellrounded picture of where the business stands on issues ranging from diversity to fair trade and carbon emissions.
“We gather that information through an exercise called stakeholder mapping,他说. “It lets us determine who cares and why.”
This so-called “rapid assessment” can be completed in a matter of weeks, DeCandido says. It offers transparency for the C-suite and the board and allows the business to build a foundational plan toward achievable 环境、社会和治理 goals, which typically begins with the issuance of an 环境、社会和治理 report for stakeholders.
Says DeCandido: “They get an outline, a road map of the immediate actionable items, as well as the things they should do in the short, 中期及长期.”
This article was originally published in our 2021 Environmental, Social and Governance special report.
