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Survey & Polls

ESG Strategy Survey 2021

Environmental, social, and governance are the three key factors to consider when measuring a company’s sustainability. We launched a survey of 1500 ESG leaders and executives worldwide to gain deeper insights into how companies are setting up and implementing ESG plans. Using a sample of ESG experts means that the respondents to this survey have both an insider view of their company’s ESG plans and practices and an informed opinion about the impact of ESG on the overall performance of a company.

There is broad consensus about the importance of ESG

There is little doubt that companies are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of ESG. However, ESG professionals in our global survey singled out the environment as the most important factor for their sector.

What are the most important ESG factors?
Most important Somewhat Important Least Important
Environment 63.2% 21.1% 15.7%
Social 18.4% 56.2% 25.4%
Governance 20.2% 24% 55.9%

Big polluting sectors like packaging, mining, oil & gas, automotive, and power are more attuned to importance of ESG

Apparel and travel & tourism are the sectors where fewer respondents prioritized social factors

Consumer, manufacturing, and aerospace, defense, and security ranked the environment lower and governance higher than other industries

Environment is the primary focus of investment

ESG is likely to see increased investment activity over the next five years. A majority of which will be towards environmental initiatives due to the increased focus on meeting net-zero emission targets. Product innovation, energy efficiency projects, setting environmental targets, and increased transparency led by the investor, customer, and regulatory pressure will dominate corporate actions in the coming years.

Under which of the ESG factors do you see increasing investment focus? - Environment
Higher Focus Moderate Focus Lower Focus
Environment 69.3% 18.5% 12.2%
Social 16% 61% 23%
Governance 14.7% 20.5% 64.8%

67% of the ESG executives have said that the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for pincreased focus and action on ESG issues

Most respondents (59%) consider risk management as the primary rationale for factoring ESG in investment and strategic decisions.

North America is the only region where the share of ESG executives that said ESG should have a major role in investment decisions is below 80%

Social performance targets are perceived to have a positive impact on revenue

The reluctance of some CEOs to fully engage with ESG can be attributed to the age-old view that it will hurt profits. However, our ESG Strategy Survey 2021 suggests the opposite: 70% of the 1,500 ESG executives we surveyed believed that setting social targets positively impacted revenue.

Does setting and implementing social performance targets have a positive, negative or neutral impact on revenue?
Response Name Response Count
Positive Impact 70.3%
Neutral Impact 17.9%
Negative Impact 10.3%
Don't Know 1.5%

Most respondents said that setting social performance targets increases revenue

Significant minority though that the impact of have social performance targets was neutral or negative

However, positive social and environmental impacts of ESG investments was less popular factor when determining whether companies considered ESG in their decision making

Risk management is the most important governance factor

An organization must implement ESG-related practices that meet the demands of various stakeholders. The new decade will see widespread adoption of ESG-related practices as the new norm. Companies must set out clear focus areas aligned with their business model and integrate them into their operational and strategic planning.

Which of the following corporate governance factors do you consider to be the most important for your sector?
Response Name Response Count
Risk Management 40.7%
Corporate Structure 30.6%
Ethics 15.7%
Corruption and Bribery 13.1%

Oil and gas, insurance, and banking and payments companies value risk management the most due to the risk involved in their operations

Most respondents claimed that their companies conducted risk assessments, and that executive pay was linked to governance targets

With 38% companies facing legal action over regulatory issues in the last 12 months, the effectiveness of governance assessments shows room from improvement

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