ESG Acceleration: How to Get More from Materiality

Last year’s results of the global risk report of the World Economic Forum revealed that the biggest risks are all environmentally oriented followed by technological risks such as data fraud. A risk that was not as prevalent was infectious diseases and we are all well-aware of how this has changed in has impacted society and business. With the recent developments around COVID-19, businesses are challenged to be even more agile and forward looking in order to cope with today’s fast-changing environment.

Updating Your Materiality Matrix post Covid-19

As the world is in various stages of recovery from the impact of the corona virus, it becomes clear that while there is a ‘new normal’, companies are aiming to go back to business-as-usual as soon as possible. How does Covid-19 affect your company’s sustainability strategy and how should this be reflected in your materiality matrix? Should you discard your old matrix and rebuild from scratch? Should pandemics be featured in it? As is almost always the case in complex situations, the answer is: it depends.

Start of the IMD Winning Sustainability Strategies Online Program

Following the publication of the book Winning Sustainability Strategies, IMD Lausanne is launching an online program aimed at business executives, strategy practitioners and sustainability professionals who are interested in the business case for sustainability and its strategic implications. Facilitated by the authors Jan van der Kaaij, Managing Partner of Finch & Beak, and IMD professor Benoit Leleux, the program starts on 21 September 2020 and is designed to help integrate sustainability in your strategy so you can maintain your competitive edge.

Lessons from DSM’s Winning Sustainability Strategy

The roots of global specialty chemicals company Royal DSM are as a Dutch state-owned coal mining company that started in 1902. The company’s future, however, is far removed from its past. DSM’s Strategy 2021 describes how the company plans to drive above-market growth through developing innovative solutions addressing Nutrition & Health, Climate & Energy and Resources & Circularity, together with increased customer-centricity and large innovation projects. In this article, DSM’s approach is decomposed by looking at the elements of its sustainability strategy, and we provide tips how to replicate this.

The Benefits of Forward-Looking Materiality

The COVID-19 outbreak shows that a topic that seems to be immaterial a few months ago, can be material today. The increasing transparency, growing stakeholder influence and visible changes of our planet increase the pace in which ESG topics become material. Companies should avoid being surprised by the impact of future ESG factors and identify which topics become material for their business in the future. In this article, we illustrate the importance of a forward-looking approach towards materiality.

ESG Acceleration Webinar: More from Materiality

In this 1-hour webinar, we'll be diving into the world of materiality to take the matrix out of the reporting trap and into a strategic tool for sustainability focus and stakeholder engagement. Guest speaker Simon Gobert, Sustainability Performance and Reporting Manager at DSM, will give practical insights on how DSM uses the matrix to shape and strengthen the company's leading sustainability program.

Maintain the Motion: ESG Acceleration Webinar Series

Finch & Beak launches the ESG Acceleration Webinar series: three webcasts in May 2020 aimed at speeding up sustainability performance and building resilience in the decade to deliver - especially during these challenging times. We'll be sharing practical insights on how to use DJSI, materiality and impact valuation to take your sustainability program to the next level.

Materiality Matrix in Focus

Analysts are better able to assess fundamental risk and reflect it in stock prices when corporate disclosures are specific and avoid vague, abstract language. However, according to SASB’s State of Disclosure Report, companies used vague and non-specific language more than 50% of the time across ESG topics. Sustainability leaders such as DSM, Unilever and Barry Callebaut demonstrate that a focused materiality approach that is strongly allied to the company’s Enterprise Risk Management and aligned with its business strategy leads to better results, both for society and for shareholders. With only an approximated 30% of companies actually combining their materiality assessment with their Enterprise Risk Mapping, “StratESGy”, i.e. the alignment of business strategy with ESG factors, is still in its infancy.

Junior Consultant Sustainable Business for the French Market

Due to continued growth, Finch & Beak is currently searching for a Junior Consultant Sustainable Business to join our team in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. If you are passionate about accelerating corporate sustainability performance and are looking to develop sustainability as an essential part of business, we would love to meet you!

The Art of Non-Financial Reporting “Less is More”

The magnitude of different non-financial reporting frameworks increasingly pressures sustainability departments in staying away from the reporting trap and focusing on improving their positive impact. Companies must frequently cope with limited bandwidth in terms of attention and resources. Instead of the all-too-common machine gun approach of spraying efforts large and thin, it is important to select a limited number of high-impact sustainability efforts. Effective implementation requires precision in the definition of sustainability targets and dedicated efforts in execution.