Have you fallen into one of these ESG risk traps?

Sometimes, even when you believe you have committed yourself to doing better, your actions don’t meet your intentions. So, even if your company has what appears to be a strong and effective statement on the environment, sustainability and governance, it’s worth periodically reviewing whether you are actually living your stated values.

Have you become seduced by value extraction?

Creating societal value can be a struggle when you feel pressure from the bottom line, or shareholders are demanding more payouts.

It is important to remember that short-term gains like these often have longer-term effects, including a corrosive effect on company culture. Such shallow thinking can stifle the innovation needed to create real value.

Are you deceiving yourself?

You may be accidentally greenwashing. It’s great to look at sustainability and write a report on it, but is that all you are doing? A stated commitment to sustainability and a discussion within your company is great, but if you aren’t backing it up with real action, you may be deceiving yourself.

Are you avoiding the evidence?

This is similar to deceiving yourself. Sometimes when executives are presented with evidence that they are not acting in a socially responsible or sustainable way, they spend more energy showing how the claims are wrong instead of processing the evidence and deciding what to do about it. How might you consider what you could do to change their minds?

Are you underestimating stakeholder pressure?

If you aren’t taking ESG initiatives seriously, it may surprise you to learn that investors are. Several companies have had to change course abruptly after investors put pressure on them – even if you haven’t adopted a long-term view, the investment community is moving that direction.

Are you overestimating your ability to shape the agenda?

Sometimes large companies think they wield more power than they do. The tech sector is a good example of this – while tech companies have both capital and influence, they overestimate their ability to shape the environment. Regulators may act if you don’t.