CFOs are primed to steer the ESG agenda

AT THE World Economic Forum in 1999, the then United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan proposed an initiative to help build a “global compact” founded on shared values. His rallying cry for action was the start of the modern sustainability movement.

Today, environmental, social, and corporate (ESG) governance is a critical part of an organisation’s DNA. While the ESG conversation in Asia Pacific has come a long way, the region is still far from driving long-term sustainability. A recent report by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) underscores how the Asia Pacific region is at risk of falling behind in achieving the 2030 targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Businesses in the region are struggling to act adequately on their ESG strategy because in most cases they lack access to real-time actionable insights that can help them better plan, execute, and measure their ESG performance. This brings us to a very pertinent question: Who in the C-suite is best suited to steer the corporate ESG agenda?