Measuring responsibility: How investment in data enables ESG
The surprising connection between digital transformation and corporate responsibility
Huron surveyed more than 300 leaders across five business sectors to find out how data and corporate ESG efforts are converging. The results reveal why investment in digital technology is the complement, not the competitor, of ESG efforts.
Leaders may be closer than they realize to lessening burdens tied to ESG and driving more meaningful outputs that matter to clients, consumers, and employees. To get there, it will take a commitment to digital-first thinking and an understanding of how to optimize existing data, technology, and analytics to serve ESG needs.
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Let Huron’s industry and digital expertise guide your next initiative. Talk to one of our industry specialists about how your organization could be generating greater value by harnessing the power of digital transformation and ESG together.
At its core, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives are about measuring the impact that business has on people, society, and the environment. It’s a story told through enterprise data and demographics, and most businesses agree that ESG is here to stay.
Despite how intertwined ESG initiatives are in industries, programs remain siloed from broader organizational strategies. Additionally, ESG programs are under-resourced from a digital standpoint. As the importance of ESG grows, organizations have an opportunity to improve effort and output without compromising investment in other areas of their business.
Research
303 Leaders
Surveyed across
multiple industries
5 Business Sectors
Including healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, financial services, and energy and utilities
20 In-depth Interviews
With CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CHROs,
+
VPs of strategy, operations,
diversity, and ESG
Putting possible into practice
What is ESG? A quick guide to identifying ESG in business
Environmental
Social
GOVERNANCE
Climate change strategy
Energy efficiency
Water efficiency
Carbon intensity
Environmental management systems
Equal opportunities
Freedom of association
Health and safety
Human rights
Customer and product responsibility
Child labor
Business ethics
Compliance
Board independence
Executive compensation
Shareholder democracy
Business is normalizing and prioritizing ESG
Over the next two to four years, businesses expect to see a continued increase in ESG importance.
69%
24%
4%
Increase
Stay the same
Decrease
ESG is no longer a rising trend but rather a normal and crucial component of business.
Essential priority
High priority
Moderate priority
Low or no priority
20%
9%
2%
72%
Digital investment and ESG converge
Digital transformation and ESG are complementary rather than distinct.
96% of respondents have made digital, tech, and analytics investments to improve ESG outcomes
98% of respondents indicate that digital, tech, and analytics tools are important to achieving ESG excellence
ESG initiatives can be an incremental addition to digital transformation.
80% of leaders say ESG digital capabilities could be improved when folded into general transformation activities
Organizations combine ESG implementation and digital capabilities
Expanding data and technology strategic planning to include ESG goals
Selecting and deploying new software and technology
Embedding ESG data collection and analysis into data and technology process workflows
Integrating ESG into ongoing data and technology change management
83%
71%
64%
61%
ESG and digital investment create value
Focusing on the following intersections of digital and ESG priorities eases reporting burdens and drives greater return on investment.
Access to industry peer data to benchmark ESG DEI progress.
Make ESG data easily accessible to all.
Create new ESG data inputs (e.g., surveys, sensors, etc.)
Establish and empower cross-functional teams.
Implement an ESG
data lake.
13%
87%
34%
7%
59%
27%
3%
70%
15%
85%
29%
8%
63%
Healthcare
Higher Education
All Industries
Manufacturing
Financial Services
Energy/Utilities
