ESG

We help organisations develop market leading ESG strategies. In today’s business environment, the integration of ESG considerations into corporate strategy has become critical. ESG strategy focuses on sustainable and ethical impact, influencing a company’s operations, reputation and financial performance. Some of the key benefits of developing an ESG strategy include:

• Regulatory compliance and advantage
• Enhancing corporate reputation
• Investor attraction and access to capital
• Attracting and retaining talent
• Operational efficiency and risk management
• Market opportunities and innovation

Developing an ESG strategy is not just a moral imperative, but a business necessity. It aligns a company’s operations with global sustainability goals, enhances reputation, attracts investment, improves operational efficiency and ensures long-term success. Companies that prioritise ESG strategies are better positioned to thrive in an increasingly complex and socially conscious market environment.

By integrating ESG considerations into their core strategies, companies can achieve sustainable growth, meet stakeholder expectations and contribute positively to society and the environment.

Policies are essential tools for embedding best practices within governance and organisational culture. They provide a framework that guides behaviour, decision-making and operations, ensuring that an organisation’s values and objectives are consistently upheld.

Incorporating ESG considerations into corporate policy not only aligns companies with global sustainability goals, but also ensures long-term success and resilience in a rapidly changing business landscape. They are vital for embedding best practices within governance and organisational culture and provide a clear signal to investors, employees and other stakeholders about the values of an organisation and its ability to embed it through practices. They also provide clear guidelines, define accountability, facilitate training, reinforce ethical standards, manage risks, structure decision-making and promote continuous improvement.

We can help review internal policies, undertake an ESG gap analysis and develop policy and practices in line with best practice and the overarching ESG strategy.

The United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UNSDGs) were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity. They provide a blueprint and are tracked on an annual basis in Sustainable Development Goals Reports.

A UNSDG materiality study is a structured process that organisations use to identify, prioritise and assess the relevance and impact of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on their business operations and stakeholders. This study helps organisations determine which SDGs are most material to their activities and how they can align their ESG strategy and policies with these goals. A key element of the UNSDGs is their integrated nature, which means that each area affects the outcomes of the others. The UNSDGs require this integration in order to ensure that the development and global efforts balance social, economic and environmental sustainability. They have therefore been utilised by companies as a baseline against which to underpin their ESG strategy and policies.

We carry out a value chain assessment and help companies understand the impact of their activities and operations on the individual UNSDGs. We can also help integrate the UNSDGs into a company’s ESG strategy, to ensure that the strategy is both impactful and aligned with global sustainability priorities, leading to better overall performance and positive contributions to society and the environment.

Offsetting plays a significant role in funding climate solutions by directing financial resources towards underfunded projects and initiatives that mitigate or reverse the effects of climate change. However, if not done correctly they can be open to greenwashing and non-compliance with regulatory and net zero standards. At Greengage, we support clients with a variety of projects, from developing offsetting policy and strategy, to looking at offsetting at practical completion for new developments and refurbishments.

To help create an offsetting strategy, we can:

• Determine long-term vision and objectives related to offsetting and how it aligns with a company’s net zero strategy. We involve key stakeholders (internal and external to the organisation) in the objectives setting process.
• Embed socio-economic or environmental co-benefits (biodiversity, education, promoting gender quality) in the procurement of offsets that also align with the company’s ESG strategy and can be measured against UNSDGs.
• Identify best practice in offsetting by undertaking a peer review to align the targets and strategy with existing and emerging industry trends.
• Provide guidance on setting an internal carbon price and create a transition fund. Internal carbon price (ICP) is an internally developed estimated cost of carbon emissions. ICP can be used as a planning tool to help identify revenue opportunities and risks, as an incentive to drive energy efficiencies to reduce costs and to guide capital investment decisions. An appropriate ICP can not only be used to purchase carbon offsets but also unlocks additional finance that be invested in projects for beyond value chain mitigation and support wider sustainability outcomes such as carbon insetting, biodiversity or social value projects.
• Provide guidance on selecting a suite of projects and purchasing quality offsets by meeting the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) Core Carbon Principles and Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting. Most offsets available today are credits that avoid emissions or reduce emissions without storage. Companies must focus on also procuring carbon removal offsets with short-lived or long-lived storage as part of the net zero aligned carbon offsetting trajectory until 2050.
• Support with procurement of offsets through credible offsetting providers and in alignment with the offsetting strategy.

We carry out technical due diligence prior to portfolio/property acquisitions to help clients understand the sustainability and ethical implications of their investment, manage risks and capitalise on opportunities. This would typically focus on:

• Assessing the property’s vulnerability to climate change impacts, such as flooding, extreme weather, sea-level rise and net zero transition risk. This helps in making informed decisions about long-term investments.
• Evaluating the building’s energy efficiency and potential for improvements. Energy-efficient buildings often have lower operating costs and higher tenant demand.
• Identifying opportunities to implement or enhance sustainable practices, such as water conservation, waste reduction and the use of renewable energy sources.
• Researching the socio-economic baseline of the local community and their needs to assess where contributions and impacts can be made.
• Ensuring the property complies with all relevant environmental and social regulations. Non-compliance can lead to fines, legal issues and reputational damage.
• Anticipating changes in regulations and ensuring the property can adapt to future legal requirements, reducing the risk of future compliance costs.

A key principle of ESG is transparency. Reporting non-financial information goes beyond compliance and is crucial for understanding a company’s market position and current risks.

Greengage helps determine the best reporting process and assists in gathering, analysing and disclosing data to produce reports which comply with relevant legislation or third-party requirements. We have experience in a variety of sustainability reporting metrics including GRESB, CDP, TCFD and REEB.

Greengage can help with bespoke ESG research. Contact us to speak about our current and past research projects and to discuss your requirements.