ESG is woke, but that’s fine
15 August 2025
Finding social or ESG impact is a collective responsibility (even for the woke folks jumping on the bandwagon).
In practice, authentic ESG will only be realised through restructuring supply chains and disrupting trade. That means more collaboration/inclusivity, less transactionalism and rethinking risk parameters.
Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)’s organisational maturity model - which measures levels of short-termism against levels of self-interest - finds only a small segment of organisations reach social-purpose-orientation. With 70% of some organisations’ sustainability footprint sitting with supply chains, A study found that 62% of supply chain ethics and risk opportunity is dormant because it’s not mapped to strategic objectives. Put simply, we’re used to reacting to the needs of the day and it’s harming social progress.
Corporates and governments are rallying around science-based targets by 2030 - whether they’d like to or not. Unfortunately, ESG remains engulfed by compliance rather than finding a new integrated home in ‘ESG advantage’. This is disappointing - and a delayed reaction to the original ambitions of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals before Financial Services pushed ESG.
The cases for change are plentiful. Each industry has its own relevance, albeit they can learn from one another. But if private and public organisations - particularly those responsible for complex supply chains and major programmes - are primarily incentivised by cost/revenue/debt/margin/earnings per share, does the seismic commercial shift to ESG really stand a chance? In truth, long-standing commercial professionals in this arena didn’t have ‘solve social issues’ in their first job descriptions.
There’s a lot to do.
Get challenging, rallying and contributing. Be critical: e.g. carbon transitions are a big piece of the puzzle but social intent is bigger. Move beyond sectoral boundaries and don’t live fearfully behind established work processes. The status quo won’t change itself ✊🏽
