As part of our summer learning series on ESG, our third session briefly tackled how our panelists got started on their ESG journeys and how they approached their materiality assessments in their respective companies. Read the recap below and access the workshop resources here.
In Part 2 of our summer learning series on ESG, we learned that materiality assessments are a crucial part of your ESG journey. Whether you’re using internal information collected through customer surveys and employee meetings or hiring a consultant for external accountability, crafting an ESG roadmap is affected by multiple factors that impact the short- and long-term value of your company.
In this third session, Kari Hayden Pendoley moderated our conversation with Corrie Conrad of Box, Alessandra Clará of Unity Technologies, and Andi C. Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee as they talked about their companies’ approach to conducting materiality needed for their ESG initiatives. Here are our 3 takeaways from the event:
- Materiality is constant iterative learning. Upon considering the relevant ESG issues to your company and industry, it’s important to keep an open mind as you explore your options. This means you may just keep doing what you’re doing, rather than starting over. The important part is to focus on your company’s priorities and current environment; you don’t need to change just because everybody else is doing the same.
- Empower your stakeholders through tasks and responsibilities. Know your audience— whether their mindset is driven by cost savings, reputational risk, or customer loyalty—and modify your materiality pitch in a way that resonates with particular stakeholders in your company. Once they’re sold to the idea, form a working group committee that is responsible for something, even if it’s a page on the annual report or a statement on the website.
- Peer benchmarking helps to identify where you are and where you want to be. One of the things you can’t capture through qualitative interviews with internal folks is the future of the new C-suites or future customers you want to have. While doing materiality, it’s important to pause and look back to see that your core values, mission, and vision are still reflected in the analysis.
To learn more about the specific tactics used by our panelists in making ESG a priority in their company, watch the full recording of the conversation below. Don’t forget to join us for the LAST session on August 26th, 1:30PM PT/ 4:30PM ET!
