According to data by Pwc, around 92% of companies in regions like the USA, UK, Brazil, and India that have strong ESG commitments will outcast the competitors without ESG commitments.
Furthermore, the same study suggests that 83% of the employees and 86% of the consumers prefer companies that have strong ESG (environmental, social, and governance) practices.
However, there is no achievement for ESG without the use of a GRC (governance, risk, and compliance.
But what is GRC and how can it help address the ESG? In this blog post, we will talk further about the GRC and how it interacts with ESG to build resilience and sustainability in the organization.
Defining GRC and ESG
GRC in an organization refers to the integrated approach of Governance, Risk management, and Compliance. It is a framework that helps organizations to manage their operations in a way that is in line with the regulatory requirements, ethical standards, and business objectives.
A GRC will break down into three main pillars namely:
Governance: The processes and policies that an organization uses to direct and control its activities. This includes defining the roles and responsibilities of the management, ensuring accountability, and maintaining transparency.
Risk management: The process that involves the identification, assessment, and management of risks that an organization faces.
Compliance: It refers to the adherence to the legal and regulatory requirements applicable to the organization’s industry, business activities, and geography.
While GRC might be a new term for many, it is just an update of an existing business model. Organizations have always focused on creating governance, and risk management but this was never done in a streamlined manner before.
To keep them in line, GRC was introduced. On the other hand, ESG was introduced with the goal of keeping the organization equipped with all the environmental and social policies.
By following the ESG best practices, organizations are positioned better toward a sustainable market and favorable outcomes resulting in better customer outputs.
If we elaborate on ESG further, here’s what it breaks down to:
Environment: This factor focuses on the effects of products and services on the environment and what steps can be taken to reduce the adverse impacts on the environment.
Social: Social factors talk about the responsibilities and roles of an organization towards the stakeholders & consumers including diversity, equity & inclusion, racial & gender justice, and community involvement.
Governance: This pillar centers on the systems, policies, and processes organizations implement to govern their operations, shape their corporate culture, recognize and manage risks, and comply with regulatory requirements.
But how does GRC impact ESG? Does it drive the ESG goals or are they independent of each other?
Let’s understand it better.
The Role of GRC in ESG:
ESG and GRC share one common element — G.
The G here stands for governance. Thus, governance follows the stringent rules and regulations that must be followed along with managing uncertainty and risks.
However, GRC is not meant to transact any ESG goals but to manage ESG objectives. In other words, Governance, Risk, and Compliance solutions help monitor the processes and activities that support the potential ESG objectives.
Although GRC solutions typically do not execute actions that enable organizations to achieve their ESG goals, they can help process the workflows that help achieve the ESG objectives.
In other words, the right GRC strategy puts the risk management program in practice to identify the environmental, social, and compliance risks that affect the goals of the organization.
Hence, effective EGS risk mitigation requires the implementation of appropriate controls. For example, the environmental risks that may affect the business infrastructure can be controlled using the industrial solutions in place.
Not to forget that compliance is a key pillar in demonstrating the ESG and GRC within an organization. Non-compliant regulations could result in various financial, economic, and social disruptions.
How to integrate GRC into ESG?
It is critical to understand that integration of GRC with the ESG should take place in a structured manner:
Conclusion
It can be said that ESG and GRC are both critical for business success. Integrating the GRC into ESG goals will reduce costs and boost productivity. Not to forget that achieving the GRC certification will bring in more governance and make organizations more competitive.
If you’re looking for more in-depth information about Governance, Risk, and Compliance solutions, we encourage you to explore our GRC solution page. Our GRC tools are designed to offer unparalleled assistance in aligning your organization’s practices with industry regulations and standards. By utilizing our advanced GRC software and expertise, you can achieve optimal GRC-ESG integration and make a meaningful impact in today’s ever-changing business landscape.
Here are some of our digital transformation solutions that you might find interesting: Enterprise Content Management Solutions (ECM), Human Capital Management Solutions (HCM), and Customer Relationship Management Solutions (CRM).
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