ESG - or environmental, social and governance - is an umbrella
term for a broad range of non-financial factors to evaluate a
company's operations and its resilience and sustainability over
time. ESG focuses on non-financial factors as a way to judge future
performance and stability. From a company's perspective, ESG
can be viewed as a leadership approach that considers multiple
stakeholders and interests, both to unlock new opportunities and to
mitigate risks. This article unpacks the "E",
"S" and "G" in the context of startup
companies.
"E"
Environmental factors refer to a company's impact on the
environment, including greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency,
water use, packaging, waste management, material sourcing, and
biodiversity. Environmental sustainability and climate risk
management are hot topics and increasingly important to a wide
range of stakeholders, including investors, employees, customers
and suppliers. However, there is no "one size fits
