To promote ESG in companies, resilience, commitment, and – most importantly – the example set by the C-Level are necessary for the culture to be embraced by the entire organization. This is the main indication from Fabio Coimbra, partner at PwC, and echoes the words of Roberto Andrade, Business Leader at CBRE GWS, and Renata Ribeiro, Chief Financial Officer of Wacker Chemie, who participated in the first day of Expo ESG, one of the main events on the topic in Brazil.
During a panel on business strategy and ESG, the experts discussed the importance of culture for the implementation of ESG strategies in companies. For them, when the example comes from above, it is much easier for ideas to be internalized and absorbed by the entire organization.
"C-Level is essential for these changes to be implemented in companies. Organizational culture needs to change for ESG to be truly implemented," said Roberto Andrade. According to him, in recent years, organizations have had to rethink and update their culture so that ESG practices could be adopted, impacting them even financially, as investors are selective with their resources, prioritizing companies with ESG practices.
Another of their assessments is that ethics and business must go hand in hand to generate the desired social and financial results, just as the adoption of sustainable business models and risk management is essential, with a focus on governance and the environment. "It is necessary to have responsibility and governance strength in company management. Leaders play an important role in this and must be attentive, because at some point everyone will be impacted by ESG," said Renata Ribeiro.
For Fabio Coimbra, concern for stakeholders must be constant and aligned with the corporations' ESG strategy. According to the PwC partner, regulatory agencies and the public authorities play an important role in strengthening the ESG agenda in companies.
