ESG or sustainability is the social license of operate for a business, the degrees of intensity might vary, tick box to innovation spectrum but ESG will persist as it instils the value to do business the right way, caring for your employees, not pollute deliberately. The social or the human rights element within the ‘S’ element is not a derivative of old school trade unionism, although formal labor organizing is making a comeback in the woke era. Human rights with the small ‘r’ are about care, nurturing the communities of practice with solid safety record.

The social element is integral to business value creation, investing in your employees and communities that they are motivated. In a post pandemic era, investing in talent is the easiest route to resilience. Thinking about resilience has a clear ROI, lessons from the pandemic are there for us to internalize.

ESG is reporting, resilience is long term value creation.