Competitive advantages through sustainability: integrating ESG goals into the corporate strategy

Sustainability aspects affect all business functions such as product development, production, financing, purchasing, and the company’s reputation as an employer. And it is not just about the implementation of regulatory requirements. Moreover, there are numerous ESG-related opportunities to strengthen a company’s future viability through strategic objectives and specific initiatives, and anticipate sustainability risks at an early stage. ESG thus becomes an essential factor in competitive differentiation and a cornerstone of corporate strategy.

Here you will find an overview of our services and solutions related to all aspects of ESG strategy development.

Identify and seize new opportunities while minimizing risk: this has always been one of the fundamental competencies of successful entrepreneurship. Changing market participants' demands and needs create opportunities for companies – but they also generate new risks. The strong social awareness worldwide of the consequences of climate change, the need for social justice and transparent corporate governance has firmly anchored sustainability as an essential element of the future on the agenda of various stakeholders. For business enterprises, these developments mean actively helping to sustainably shape the future – also in order to remain competitive going forward.

What challenges do organisations face?

Politics defines new framework requirements for corporate reporting. Investors are increasingly taking environmental and social risks into account when lending and investing. Consumers are changing their buying habits and are increasingly demanding sustainable products. Business partners also want and need to know how and under what conditions the products and services that they procure (and possibly further process) are created.

For management, these demands often result in a complexity that is difficult to handle with the existing resources and expertise – which are typically not yet sufficiently aligned with sustainability goals. This is especially true in small and medium-sized enterprises. Large and global enterprises also face their own unique challenges in sustainably transforming their global supply chains, as well as the differing regulatory and reporting requirements in various countries.

How Mazars can assist you

Our experts help companies of all sizes develop holistic sustainability objectives, integrate these into their corporate strategy, plan and implement the targeted measures, and develop control mechanisms.

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