Corporate leaders have, in recent years, come under unprecedented pressure to substantiate sustainability commitments with practical action. Regulators, investors and consumers increasingly now expect companies to quantify and disclose progress towards published targets and to document the tangible benefits such measures are generating for the planet and society. When it comes to acting on climate change and social inequality, therefore, the time for “ambition” has expired. Going forward in 2022, “impact” must be the watchword for effective corporate sustainability governance.
But despite the increased focus on “impact” that is coming to predominate ESG discourse and strategy, it remains, for many companies, an amorphous concept. Indeed, there is much uncertainty regarding how leaders can best go about measuring the positive effects generated by corporate sustainability programs. This publication, the second EcoVadis Network Impact Report, endeavors to promote a greater understanding of sustainable impact, what it is and how it can be measured, and to illustrate the manifold ways in which the EcoVadis network is helping to drive positive impact at scale.
