Is It Time for an ESG Reset?: Ep. 24 of Red Sky Fuel for Thought PodcastWhat You’ll Learn in This Episode:·       The relationship between purpose, CSR, ESG and sustainability·       The various ways that the ‘S’ in ESG is being defined·       How the events and experiences of the past two years have changed the ESG landscape at a high level·       The importance of simplification and clarity surrounding ESG effortsThe recently elevated attention on company purpose has proven to be a watershed moment for ESG, as stakeholders seek to align on the different approaches on values and purpose, what constitutes ‘best in class’ programs and efforts, and how to harmonize different ways of reporting key metrics. Further, within ESG, we’ve seen a particular focus on the ‘S’ and what it does or does not encompass in terms of the important factors that link to a company’s reputation and brand equity. In this month’s episode, Red Havas’ Linda Descano, CFA® is joined by guests Mike Tyrrell (https://www.linkedin.com/in/miketyrrell/) and Jeffrey Whitford (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-whitford-5419b812/) to explore the current state of the ESG landscape and whether it’s time for a reset in a post-pandemic future.The conversation begins with a look into the relationship between purpose, CSR, ESG, and sustainability, and how organizations can clarify these terms for audiences.They're all dealing with roughly the same area of the wider social responsibilities of a company, but there are nuances between them as well,” says Mike Tyrrell, editor, SRI-Connect. “The two that are most tangible are purpose and sustainability. Sustainability is the overarching term that we all need to achieve as a society to ensure our survival. But purpose accords most neatly with companies. Companies have two purposes: they have to make money to satisfy their shareholders, and they also have to deliver on other societal responsibilities, which break down into governance, environmental, social, economic, and ethical.”“The most important thing that we can do to get employees on the journey with us is to focus on simplification and clarity surrounding what is included under the sustainability umbrella,” says says Jeffrey Whitford, Head of Sustainability and Social Business Innovation for the Life Science business of Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany. “It’s also important to make sure that the lived experience of employees matches what they're hearing or seeing from organizations on a meaningful scale. All the work you've done over the years disintegrates the moment your employees lose trust in your efforts.”Mike then provided a perspective on how the ESG landscape has evolved over the past two years: "We have seen the world change both in terms of the volume of interest in this area, but also the sophistication with which investors are using the information that they receive. Investors are much more up to speed with this, their clients are demanding it much more from them, and companies are talking to them more openly and clearly about how these factors are affecting their business performance."“You need to be very clear about where you're going to have impact, rather than trying to boil the ocean,” continues Jeffery. “You need to understand what your stakeholders expect of you and what matters to them in relation to your business, which then gives you a roadmap of how to focus in on key issues while ensuring all other issues are still included in your approach.”Next, the conversation shifts to how the ‘S’ in ESG is being redefined.