EN 
PT_BR 
O UN Global Compact in Brazil, in partnership with Stilingue, a digital monitoring platform with artificial intelligence, and the consultancy Falconi, launch the study 'How is your ESG Agenda?', made with 190 organizations, from the private, public and third sector sectors, which pointed out the scenario of the ESG agenda in Brazil.
The report, which was carried out based on a research questionnaire and monitoring of the topic on social networks with social listening, points out that 78.4% of respondents stated that they included ESG in the development of their business strategies, which shows the maturity of this agenda in Brazil.
In addition to climate, The technology and new generations are pillars to keep this issue as a priority. “A new sector, Technology, emerges in this research that we present here among the 5 most cited in 2022, in the ranking of the sectors most linked to ESG in the digital universe.
According to the survey, big techs such as Microsoft, IBM and Dell are on the agenda for developing products that help companies achieve sustainable goals.
The study also x-rayed the motivators for an ESG agenda in organizations. “And what most inspires the implementation of an ESG agenda is concern about environmental impacts and a sustainable economy. Even so, the biggest impact actually perceived by 70% of the companies that implemented the agenda is on their reputation and image”.
Furthermore, for 35.8% of them it is in resources and for 34.2%, in attracting and retaining talent. The least mentioned factor was consumer demands, which shows that in most segments, including Industry, Services and Commerce, this demand is still not significantly perceived.
“Although companies still see reputation and image as the main values when they talk about implementing ESG, it is clear that this entire agenda is increasingly mature, especially among business leaders and investors”, said Carlo Pereira, CEO of the Global Compact of UN in Brazil.
“We have left behind the time when a few areas of a company dealt with sustainability and we see that CEOs are increasingly engaged and involved in the topic, which is fundamental for the advancement of the 2030 Agenda as a whole. And we won't be able to go back. Society is demanding, it is a demand from stakeholders, and the expectation is that these numbers and this 'pressure' will only grow”, he highlighted.
And this is also reflected in companies that do not have ESG practices, as 67.4% of them report not having suffered negative impacts for this reason, such as any types of sanctions. Furthermore, 58% has also never refused suppliers and/or partners using this type of criteria.
However, they pointed out that this scenario may be changing, as 8.9% reported having lost business or consumers, 4.2% lost market value and 3.7% had difficulty accessing financing lines. The most noticeable negative impact, in 13.2% of companies, was lower employee engagement and the difficulty in attracting talent.
Factors to advance the ESG agenda
In general, organizations indicated that in order to move forward with the ESG agenda, it is necessary to have better structuring of support areas for implementation (respondents' perception of 25.7%), greater training of professionals in this agenda (17.5%), the increased actions to raise awareness of ESG practices (17.5%) and greater support from leadership (15.3%).
Leadership support is also evident in the organizations' responses in relation to the difficulties in advancing the agenda, in which the factors highlighted indicate the dissociation of the ESG agenda from the company's strategy, since there is a lack of associated financial goals, dedicated budget and connection of the pillars E, S and G across areas and departments, for example.
Below are more numbers from the research by the environmental pillar analyzed:
Environmental Pillar
According to the UN Global Compact in Brazil, companies' initiatives in relation to the environmental pillar focus on training employees on the topic and on actions such as reduction, recycling and sustainable disposal of waste, which are simpler actions to carry out as they require less resources.
“However, it is notable that initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have become very relevant for companies of all segments and sizes, since 62.1% have invested in such initiatives, being the most discussed topic in the Industry, Infrastructure, Commerce and Agribusiness”, they emphasized.
“This demonstrates that even though these are initiatives that require more resources – such as, for example, carrying out a carbon inventory and taking concrete actions to reduce emissions – it is something that is being demanded in most businesses, whether by investors, customers, suppliers or even for the positive impact that the organization wants to promote”, concluded the study.
