Does ESG offer opportunity? Or is it just another area for compliance friction?
By 
Amii Barnard-Bahn2022-12-16T13:00:00
Most of us would agree compliance and ethics has such an overwhelmingly large scope—to prevent, detect, and deter all illegal and unethical organizational conduct—that expansion of the role is, well, risky. However, there are many proponents of adding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) to compliance’s duties.
ESG is a hot topic. It has rapidly expanded from solely a concern of publicly traded companies to a key global consideration.
Compliance Week’s “Inside the Mind of the CCO” survey asked participants whether their organizations would fund and resource a new function or expect ESG to be picked up by existing roles in the company. A slight majority of respondents (52 percent) said their organizations did not already have or intend to hire a separate sustainability lead.
Related articles
-
PremiumStartup or established: Common denominators of corporate ESG strategy
A pair of experts from vastly different companies swapped notes on how to scaffold and structure an environmental, social, and governance program at CW’s virtual ESG Summit.
-
PremiumAppreciating ESG fraud risk management
The factors that surround the environmental, social, and governance disciplines have grown from just a few to more than 50 considerations, indicating all three ESG elements carry equal weight when evaluating a proper corporate strategy.
-
News BriefTreasury report recommends stricter supervision of insurers’ climate risks
The Treasury Department’s Federal Insurance Office issued a report on gaps in how states supervise and assess climate-related risks among insurers.
More from Opinion
-
OpinionThe CFO, AI, and the New Compliance Frontier
As CFOs use AI to streamline operations, they face new compliance risks tied to accountability and algorithmic governance. CCOs must work with them to ensure transparency and oversight throughout adoption.
-
OpinionThe Compliance - Audit gap in ESG and financial reporting
ESG reporting has moved from a voluntary PR exercise to an expectation for regulators and investors, but the compliance audit gap now threatens credibility.
-
ArticleHow to promote a positive compliance culture – and why behavior matters.
No matter what compliance managers do, people continue to disregard rules. Sandro Boeri, president of the U.K.’s Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, says a new mandatory standard for internal audit teams can help.