UNDERSTANDING ESG VALUE

The right ESG performance metrics connect activities to outcomes.

ESG programs, and climate programs in particular, have to manage rapidly evolving risks and often cut across organisational boundaries. Leaders need a holistic view of progress; management need mechanisms to identify and escalate emerging risks, and stakeholders need to understand how activities continue to protect and create value.

Vanessa works across functions to ensure there is a consistent understanding of ESG goals at all levels and across teams. She helps teams to identify metrics that capture progress, risks and opportunities, and that support stakeholder communications and reporting.


ALIGNING REPORTS

Climate change disclosures are increasingly integrated throughout annual reports. Environment, biodiversity and other sustainability issues are not far behind.

Maintaining consistency of disclosures is important to protect against reputational, regulatory and legal risk. Vanessa has experience across the full range of corporate reporting and works with your expert teams to build a messaging framework to guide consistent and connected reporting/communications. She has written and reviewed ESG disclosures in:

  • financial reports

  • tax transparency reports

  • remuneration reports

  • corporate governance statements

  • risk disclosures

  • operating and financial reviews.


ESG GOVERNANCE

Accountability for ESG outcomes is increasingly important to Boards and senior management.

But governance of climate and sustainability programs is complex. Sustainable performance requires you to balance multiple, complex and interrelated parameters. Performance can be subject to a lot of uncertainty and the success or otherwise of your decisions may not be known until many years after your tenure.

Vanessa has worked with a range of large corporations to establish governance and reporting for sustainability programs, advising at a senior level on the execution of internal and external reporting and governance. From her experience across the full range of reporting, she understands the contribution of different functions - including finance, risk and human resources - to ESG. She works with teams to develop a holistic picture and establish mechanisms for robust internal reporting to senior management and the Board.


COMMUNICATING ESG

How an ESG-focused activity protects or grows value can be difficult to explain. Decision makers or investors may be focused on narrow costs-and-returns parameters, while regulators and ratings agencies may take a compliance-based approach that allows little scope for communicating the bigger picture.

The rationale for sustainability programs therefore needs to be crystal clear.

Vanessa has years of experience in reporting, marketing and corporate communications. She can work with you to develop reports, applications and proposals that are:

  • targeted to your stakeholders

  • consistent with your strategy and public disclosures

  • accurate, fair and understandable

  • less likely to attract claims of greenwashing.