Corporate governance

Over the years, ESG – the environmental, social and governance framework used to evaluate a company’s performance and sustainability – has evolved from a niche concept to a mainstream consideration for businesses. Now, this vital strategic imperative, if acted upon without delay, heralds stronger stakeholder engagement, greater resilience, and a longer, healthier life for the company.

New EU legislation means that providing reporting on your organization’s CO2 emissions will soon be mandatory. Finding efficient ways to do this is crucial – and a good place to start is with specialized technology, which can help to calculate carbon impact in just a few clicks.

As the business landscape grows ever more uncertain and disrupted, CFOs need to reinvent themselves so that their focus increasingly falls on fostering innovation and promoting adaptability, rather than solely on accounting, compliance and safeguarding assets. Those who can become comfortable in today’s climate of upheaval and change will discover new opportunities in what will be an increasingly key leadership role.

In a hyperconnected world, cybersecurity is a vital part of protecting both corporate reputation and the safety of employees. While IT departments might be responsible for putting systems in place, it takes every employee from the C-suite down to ensure those systems remain intact.

Being able to recognize a consulting organization’s ethics, reflected in their culture, greatly influences their clients’ ability to trust them. It is therefore the remit of the individual consultant and the organization to ensure they are engaging clients with the best intent, that they don’t falsely represent themselves, that they charge fairly, and conduct their business with integrity.

Trust is an imperative value in human interaction and behavior. In the business world, this is no different. AI has also become a key tool in unifying the business world with human elements to help automate processes and manage complex data. The pressure is on for organizations to keep up with the times and adopt using AI, but why are some companies hesitant to do so? Can AI be trusted?

The different needs of cybersecurity continue to evolve, in the same way that businesses must adapt and respond to these cybersecurity risks and challenges. Partnerships are just one of the many ways in which businesses can protect themselves and move with the times.

Trust can take years for organizations to build with customers and employees, but only moments to break. How can businesses secure and build trust that can stand the test of time in a turbulent period of economic shakiness, political unrest and a global pandemic?

Whatever the trigger, significant technological and other business changes should never damage your customers’ trust in you. This means keeping their personal data safe. In fact, done well, data protection ought to increase confidence in your business. How to get there? It starts, as with many things, with a detailed understanding of the challenges and strong governance around the solutions.

Sustainability reporting and standards are so important. Customers want to know that the companies they work with have clearly defined sustainability goals and mandates. Companies need to be prepared, need to recognise the value of sustainability in achieving their long- and short-term goals.