Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 97 | Page 84

FINAL WORD

What is your measure of ESG success , can technology boost this ?

Business leaders must decide how to translate ESG requirements into consistent practices that reach across the organisation and along the value chain to each partner and supplier for the optimum community impact says Cathy Mauzaize at ServiceNow .

The Middle East consumer base is increasingly dominated by a young , socially conscious subsection . According to PwC research , shoppers here base their buying decisions on environment , social and governance , ESG issues to a greater extent than the global average . Some 31 % of those in the Middle East say they consider ESG when making a purchase compared with 18 % globally .

ESG strategies have leapt up several places on the priority lists of regional boardrooms as regulators and employees join consumers in demanding more responsible business operations .
But calling for it is one thing . Navigating its challenges to deliver on ESG pledges is another . In a fragile global economy , how do we choose wisely from the many potential areas for investment ? And how do we solve problems of measurement to demonstrate progress ? The fog on the path forward starts to clear when considering central truths of ESG .
ESG journeys are not the same
ESG will mean something different for each enterprise , based on the nature , maturity , and scope of operations . Legal demands , values , and customer expectations will also come into play . The business leader must then decide how to translate these requirements into consistent practices that reach across the organisation itself and
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