Integrating COVID-19 Response Efforts into ESG Reporting

Make the most of your company’s actions

As COVID-19 sweeps the globe, businesses and markets worldwide face challenges that change and evolve by the day. Risks related to COVID-19 are currently front and center, but the investment community continues to look closely at a company’s non-financial risks, including ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues.

Businesses can use this period as an opportunity to capture their COVID-19 response strategies as part of broader ESG initiatives. Those companies already issuing regular ESG reports should consider expanding their reports to include additional areas related to ESG that they are addressing as part of their COVID-19 response.

For example, many companies are expanding efforts to protect the safety of their workforce in response to the coronavirus. These measures should be incorporated into existing ESG workforce safety measures a company already had in place.  

Businesses are having to put their business continuity and disaster recovery plans to the test. This includes everything from keeping the supply chain intact, to supporting a remote IT infrastructure, to managing public relations.

By connecting COVID-19 responses to company ESG programs, your company’s leadership can help reconcile its own response plans and actions to the interests of investors, while also optimizing social investments being made at a time when difficult decisions are often necessary.

Investors may be basing their decisions on ESG reports from one of several frameworks. Using the GRI standards as a baseline, a company can address a number of components directly related to challenges and opportunities companies arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. These may include:

Governance

• Statement from Senior decision maker (102-14)
• Key impacts, risks and opportunities (102-15)
• Values, principles, standards and norms of behaviors (102-16)
• Mechanisms for advice and concerns about ethics (102-17)
• Executive-level responsibility for economic, environmental, and social topics (102-20)
• Effectiveness of risk management processes (102-30)
• Review of economic, environmental and social topics (102-31)
• Communicating critical concerns (102-33)
• Remuneration policies (102-35)

Organizational Profile & Operations

• Supply chain (102-9)
• New suppliers screened using social criteria (308-1)
• Negative social impacts in the supply chain and actions taken (414-2)
• Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories (416-1)

Employment & People

• Benefits provided to full-time employees, temporary employees, and part-time employees including sick leave (401-2)
• Occupational health services (403-3)
• Promotion of worker health (403-6)
• Work-related ill health (403-10)

No one knows how long it will take to return to normal, or what the new normal will look like. However, evidence suggests that this crisis and the business environment that emerges as a result will only accelerate discussions on social initiatives and result in more investor interest and scrutiny. 

If you have questions or need advice with this or other business issues related to the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, please contact us. We are here to help.

© 2020