Are you new to ESG management and reporting? Have you tried to work on ESG procedures but only got suboptimal results? The growing demand from stakeholders and new laws demand high accuracy from every company, implying that you cannot afford to get it wrong. One of the best options for your company is to use an environmental, social, and governance consulting firm’s services.
ESG consulting agencies come with experts who can help you understand the sustainability process and set the right projections. Having helped other companies in the past, you have the opportunity to get even more from a good consulting firm. This guide outlines expert tips that you should use to get more from the selected environmental, social, and governance consulting agency.
The Importance of Working with an ESG Consulting Firm
The main benefit of working with consulting agencies is that they have the expertise. Therefore, you get to use the services of the best professionals for better environmental, social and governance (ESG) management and performance. As we are going to see shortly, this could get you some time to develop your internal capacity to handle sustainability matters. Other benefits of using advisory services include:
- Environmental, social, and governance consulting can help you improve compliance with local and international laws.
- The consulting experts can provide guidelines for integrating sustainability into your company's strategy.
- With experts on your side, your company is sure to adopt strategies to improve ESG reporting and ESG rating.
- Very useful for strengthening your brand on the market.
How to Get More Value from an Environmental, Social, and Governance Consulting Firm
The following are some of the tested and proven tips that you can use to get more from an ESG consulting firm or company:
Only Select the Best Firm to Help with ESG
The growing demand for ESG compliance from authorities and investors, among other stakeholders, has attracted interest from multiple players. However, not all of them have the expertise that you want or deal with in your industry. To get more from an environmental, social, and governance consulting firm, you should only work with the one that guarantees results. Start by reviewing the agency's working design, products, and commitment to helping your company achieve better results.
Share Accurate Information to Ensure ESG Reports are Correct
Getting the right environmental, social, and governance consulting firm is only the starting point. Next, you need to share your company’s information with the agency and craft a working plan. As we indicated earlier, ESG management is mainly about data and it has to be accurate. Therefore, you should designate a specific point of contact where the agency can get the required information for action.
The most preferred method for data sharing is designating the role to a specific department or officer in your company. Then, develop a good strategy or plan for the company's ESG operations. The plan should feature key performance indicators and actions that should be taken at specific times for better results. Also, insist on having the plan reviewed severally along the way to ensure it is delivering the expected results.
Get Involved at All Stages of ESG Implementation
One of the mistakes that managers make when they bring on board an environmental, social, and governance consulting firm is exiting the stage. It is true that you might be occupied with other executive tasks, but the task of corporate ESG management cannot be entirely left to the consultants. Getting involved can help you not only learn new skills but identify things that your board of directors should do differently. There are two notable ways of getting involved:
- Insist on getting regular reports and briefings about the efforts taken by the company. This can help your business to stay on top of every move taken by the ESG consultants.
- Designate a specific manager or team to work with the selected agency. This method is also good because your team will be there to ensure that everything is done in line with the contractual agreement. You are also able to maintain a keen eye on meeting what stakeholders, such as investors and community, want.
Include Training for Your Staff to Build In-House Skills
One of the reasons for contracting and working with environmental, social, and governance consulting firms is the lack of local capacity and skills. For example, most companies have challenges collecting and analysing sustainability data. The agency you select can help to build these skills for your team if you include training as part of the agreement.
Try to make the training specific by identifying the skills that your staff needs. For example, you might want the consultants to train staff on the process of ESG reporting and compliance. This can help them to generate insights for better sustainability management for support.
When the contract with the experts finally comes to a close, your in-house team will have the required skills to push ahead with the ESG-related operations. Remember that with the fast-evolving ESG niche, additional training might still be required in the future to sharpen their skills further.
Working with an environmental, social, and governance consulting firm is an excellent idea for new businesses and organisations that want to get matters of sustainability correct. This post has demonstrated that it is possible to get even more from the consulting firm using the outlined tips. Visit Diginex.com, one of the leading agencies on sustainability matters, for the best ESG management software and expert assistance.
