Listen to Richard Hardyment, author and head of business engagement at the Institute of Business Ethics
In this week’s episode, Richard Howitt asks: can we believe the numbers on environment, social and governance (ESG)?
To address this, we welcome Richard Hardyment, a research professional, very used to assessing numbers, but who has just produced a book saying that there is little or no evidence that ESG has and has had any positive outcomes for people and the planet in the real world. And yet he calls himself emphatically pro-sustainability. After directing research at the World Benchmarking Alliance, he is now head of business engagement at the Institute of Business Ethics. His new book is called Measuring Good Business: Making Sense of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Data.
In this episode, you’ll hear more about:
“I think all the work that's been going on in standards over the last 20 years really is hugely welcome and important. It's been critical in terms of painting a picture for companies and investors, the direction of travel. It's crucial to provide the language in terms of the frameworks, what we mean by these topics, what does human rights mean, what does climate resilience mean and codifying that. And it's been vital in terms of helping businesses allocate resources and do this in an efficient way. And obviously the upcoming regulations are presenting a challenge on that front.”
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Is product-level reporting rather than firm-level reporting better for the competitiveness of European industry? Listen to Brian Hill, Academic Director of the Inclusive Economy Center in Sustainability and Organisations Institute at HEC Paris, and Research Director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, CNRS.
What’s the verdict on how well first-wave companies have been reporting according to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive? Listen to Frank Bold’s own Lorena Bisignano and Louis Establet
What will Omnibus 1 mean for the future of sustainability reporting in the EU and beyond? Listen to Julia Otten, Senior Policy Officer at Frank Bold and Andreas Rasche, Assistant Dean and Professor of Business in Society at Copenhagen Business School
