To spread ESG in companies, resilience is needed, commitment and – mainly – the example of C-Level for the culture to be embraced by the whole company. This is the main indication of Fabio Coimbra, partner at PwC, and echoes the words of Roberto Andrade, business leader of CBRE GWS,and Renata Ribeiro,Financial Director of Wacker Chemie,that participated in the first day of the Expo ESG, one of the main events on the theme of Brazil.
During a panel on business strategy and ESG, the specialists spoke about 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 corporation.
The C-Level is essential for these changes to be implemented in companies. Organizational culture needs to change for ESG to be truly implemented, Roberto Andrade stated. According to him, in recent years, organizations needed to rethink and update the culture, for ESG practices to be adopted, including financially impacting, since investors are selective with their resources, giving priority to companies with ESG practices.
Another assessment of theirs is that ethics and business must go hand in hand to generate the sought social and financial results, just as it is essential to adopt sustainable business models and risk management, with a focus on governance and the environment. It is necessary to have responsibility and governance strength in the management of companies. 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 ESG strategy of corporations. According to the partner at PwC, regulatory bodies and the public authorities play an important role in strengthening the ESG agenda in companies.
