While there are advantages in switching to ESG (such as being a good corporate citizen and attracting consumers), there are also real gains when ‘going ESG’. The real gains are tangible and measurable and takes the brand beyond the ‘good’ social license.
Unilever, whose brands – Ben & Jerry’s, Vaseline etc- are household names, discovered that their sales surged after ‘going ESG.’ For instance, as a result of their new commitment, Unilever began using much less water to produce the widely known Sunlight soaps. Unilever’s ‘lower usage’ of water to make sunlight range brought consumer goodwill to the Company.
“When Unilever developed Sunlight, a brand of dishwashing liquid that used much less water than its other brands, sales of Sunlight and Unilever’s other water-saving products proceeded to outpace category growth by more than 20 percent in a number of water-scarce markets..” Five ways that ESG creates value By Witold Henisz, Tim Koller, and Robin Nuttall – www.mckinsey.com
The energy sector is increasingly embracing ESG. Reheat, a British energy Company in biomass energy is seen as a winner in taking up the ESG challenge and turning it to environmentally friendly profits.
“Reheat works directly with clients who are now accelerating their transition to decarbonised production. The economic situation is of course a key driver, as biomass heat solutions, for example, provide a viable, ready-to-go alternative to oil and gas, with lower prices that aren’t subject to interruptions in global supply chains and the dramatic price-hikes that fossil fuels have experience recently..”( bdaily.co.uk- ESG – What Are you Doing? By Anna Toms- 31 AUG 2022)
The global trend that is driving ESG adoption at large scale is Electric Vehicles (EVs). Top brands are mixing EVs to their fleet, as part of becoming carbon neutral. Among them are Amazon (adds 100,000 –carbon neutral by 2040), Unilever (to convert fleet to 100% EVs by 2030) and Wal-Mart (electrify fleet by 2040).
“When it comes to the Environmental pillar of ESG, EVs are becoming more of an answer for companies. With EV makes and models coming onto the market at a rapid pace and battery advancements increasing range and decreasing cost, fleet has been identified as one of the most significant and accessible ways for companies with ESG plans to make progress on their goals over the next 10-20 years.” ( www.merchantsfleet.com)
Still, let us not miss the woods for the tree; the key notion behind ESG is NOT corporate profits nor gains but ‘a better planet for all.’
