Aligning with global standards: A practical ESG guide for every organisation

Embarking on an ESG journey—whether you’re starting fresh or reviewing your existing strategy—requires a structured approach to ensure long-term success. ESG is no longer just a corporate buzzword; it’s a fundamental aspect of business resilience, stakeholder trust, and regulatory compliance. But where do you begin, or if you’ve already begun, how do you refine your efforts to align with global best practices? By setting clear goals, assessing your current position, engaging stakeholders, and integrating key frameworks like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, organisations can create a meaningful and measurable ESG strategy. In this guide, we’ll walk through the essential steps to developing, refining, and embedding ESG principles into your operations, ensuring your efforts drive real impact while meeting compliance obligations.

Step 1: Start with your goals

The first step in any ESG journey is defining what matters most to your organisation. Consider the environmental impact, social values, and governance practices that align with your mission and stakeholder expectations. Organisations just starting should look to relevant frameworks such as the UN SDGs, GRI Standards, and TCFD recommendations.

  • UN SDGs provide a global blueprint for addressing critical environmental and social issues, offering 17 goals to guide sustainable development.
  • GRI Standards help organisations create comprehensive ESG reports, ensuring transparency and accountability.
  • TCFD Recommendations focus on climate-related financial risks, helping businesses disclose the impacts of climate change on operations and strategies.

For organisations already working on ESG, now is the time to review your goals through the lens of these frameworks. Are your targets still aligned with these benchmarks? Have new priorities emerged? Setting or refining clear objectives ensures your efforts are relevant and impactful.

Step 2: Take stock of where you are

Understanding your current position is essential. For organisations just beginning, conduct a baseline assessment to identify gaps and opportunities. This might involve assessing carbon emissions, diversity statistics, or governance structures. For those with established ESG initiatives, review your progress and reflect. Have you met your targets? What strengths can you build on, and where are improvements needed? Using frameworks like GRI can provide guidance on measuring and benchmarking your performance effectively.

Step 3: Craft or revise your ESG policies

A robust ESG policy is your roadmap. For beginners, this involves creating a plan that clearly outlines your commitments, goals, and timelines. Be sure to integrate global best practices, such as those from the UN SDGs or TCFD, to give your policies a foundation that resonates with international and local standards.

For organisations revisiting their policies, refine them to reflect regulatory updates or shifts in stakeholder expectations. For instance, TCFD recommendations might guide you in addressing climate-related risks more comprehensively, while GRI Standards can improve the quality of your reporting. A strong policy should be actionable, measurable, and aligned with your organisation’s overarching values.

Step 4: Bring stakeholders on the journey

ESG is about people as much as it is about policies. For those starting, involve employees, customers, investors, and the broader community early on to align your initiatives with their expectations. Discuss how frameworks like the UN SDGs or GRI Standards help shape your commitments to global sustainability goals, which stakeholders may value highly.

Organisations reviewing their ESG strategy should reconnect with stakeholders to gather feedback. Their insights can provide fresh perspectives and highlight areas where your initiatives can evolve to better meet their needs. Building these relationships strengthens trust and ensures your ESG strategy has widespread support.

Step 5: Educate your people

Training is the bridge between policies and action. For those new to ESG, foundational training should introduce the goals and explain how global frameworks like the UN SDGs, GRI Standards, or TCFD recommendations underpin your organisation’s approach.

For organisations reviewing their strategy, refresher training can address updates to these frameworks, helping employees understand emerging priorities like climate risk disclosure or progress toward sustainable development. Education ensures your team is informed, engaged, and empowered to bring your ESG commitments to life.

Step 6: Act and adapt

Implementation is where plans take shape. If you’re just starting, focus on small, achievable projects tied to global frameworks. For example, align your initiatives with specific UN SDGs, such as reducing inequalities or combating climate change.

If your organisation is reviewing its strategy, evaluate the effectiveness of current projects. Are they contributing to the goals set by TCFD or GRI Standards? Could resources be reallocated for greater impact? Acting and adapting ensures your ESG strategy remains dynamic and effective.

Step 7: Measure, report, and refine

Transparent reporting is essential for accountability and improvement. For beginners, align your metrics with frameworks like GRI Standards or TCFD recommendations to ensure your reporting meets global expectations. This might include tracking greenhouse gas emissions or monitoring social impact metrics.

For organisations reviewing their efforts, use these frameworks to reassess your data. Are your reports reflecting progress toward the UN SDGs? Are they clear and comprehensive for stakeholders? Regular reporting builds trust and demonstrates your commitment to continuous improvement.

ESG is a journey of continuous improvement

Whether your organisation is starting from scratch or reviewing its existing strategy, ESG is a continuous process of learning, adapting, and improving. Global frameworks like the UN SDGs, GRI Standards, and TCFD recommendations provide valuable guidance at every stage.

At Safetrac, we’re here to support you, from training your teams to aligning your efforts with these standards and reporting on your achievements. Ready to review and refine your ESG efforts? Let’s work together to create meaningful change.

 

Need support with ESG compliance and training?

Safetrac offers expert-led courses and tailored solutions to help your organisation meet its ESG goals. Get in touch today to learn more.

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