Sustainability and ESG

Overview

In today's dynamic business landscape, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations have surged to prominence, capturing the attention of forward-thinking organizations. Delving into vital areas such as environmental sustainability, encompassing GHG emissions and eco-conscious practices, nurturing human capital with a focus on customer privacy, employee well-being, engagement, and diversity, alongside the crucial tenets of governance and ethical business practices, including legal compliance and supply chain excellence. Embrace the ESG revolution and unlock a brighter, sustainable future for your organization.

We see the urgency to act now:

The long- and medium-term resilience of business models and their ability to create lasting value will depend on redesigning and integrating ESG matters into corporate culture, strategy, and practice.
Finance, access to capital, and insurance cover at reasonable rates will also depend on a clear, positive ESG impact.
Investors and other stakeholders increasingly require ESG information: a convincing ESG strategy and appropriate performance.
Companies will need to deliver on their value-creation ambitions or face reputational damage.

Our sustainability experts help to define sustainability strategy; advise on policy; operational change; risk management; reporting; monitoring and ensuring progress – all through a sustainability lens. We help to integrate ESG issues into operations and embrace the challenges of today's business environment as opportunities for long-term and sustainable growth.

Issues you may be facing

Employee engagement: Encouraging employee buy-in and participation in ESG initiatives can be a struggle, especially in larger organizations.
Greenwashing concerns: Demonstrating genuine commitment to ESG goals and avoiding accusations of "greenwashing" (making misleading or unsubstantiated ESG claims) can be a reputational challenge.
Risk management: Assessing and mitigating ESG-related risks, such as climate change impacts or labor disputes, requires proactive strategies and expertise.
Sustainability reporting: Producing clear and transparent ESG reports that effectively communicate progress and impact to stakeholders is a continuous challenge.
Market volatility: Companies may face financial market volatility and investor pressure if their ESG performance is inconsistent or does not align with investor expectations.
Competitive pressure: Competing on ESG factors in an increasingly ESG-focused business landscape can be challenging, as it requires continuous improvement and differentiation.
Long-term perspective: Balancing short-term financial objectives with long-term ESG goals can be a challenge, particularly for companies facing shareholder pressure.
Data quality and availability: Accurate and reliable data on ESG factors can be challenging to obtain, especially for smaller companies and those operating in diverse industries.

Integration into strategy: Many companies struggle to integrate ESG considerations seamlessly into their overall business strategy and decision-making processes.
Stakeholder engagement: Engaging effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders, including investors, employees, customers, and communities, to address their ESG concerns can be complex.
Regulatory compliance: Staying up-to-date and compliant with evolving ESG regulations and reporting requirements, which can vary by region and industry, is a significant challenge.
Resource constraints: Smaller companies or those with limited resources may find it challenging to allocate the necessary time and funds to ESG initiatives.
Metrics and measurement: Determining the most appropriate ESG metrics to track and measure progress is a common challenge, as there is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Materiality assessment: Identifying which ESG issues are most material to the company's long-term performance can be complex, as it requires a deep understanding of industry dynamics and stakeholder concerns.
Supply chain complexity: Companies with extensive supply chains face challenges in ensuring that ESG standards are met throughout their entire network.

Addressing these challenges often requires a concerted effort, commitment, and strategic planning to ensure that ESG initiatives are not only implemented but also effectively integrated into the core of a company's operations and culture.

How we can add value

Climate change
ESG due diligence and ESG health check capabilities
Responsible investment
Safety, health, and environment
Sustainable value chains

Climate change

Challenges: Climate change impacts water supplies, infrastructure, agriculture, business operations, and more. Investors increasingly demand climate risk mitigation, impacting investment flows. Climate-related risks can disrupt supply chains, raise costs, hinder operations, or alter market dynamics.

How we can help you:

Strategy and Transformation: Define your climate ambition, develop implementation plans, and establish governance structures. Start with tactical responses and move towards strategic integration.
Training: Educate your staff on new climate policies and processes.

ESG due diligence and ESG health check capabilities

Challenges: ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors are crucial, impacting operations and exit values. Executives must strategically manage their businesses in the face of growing ESG pressures and trends.

How we can help you:

Traditional ESG Due Diligence: Assess materiality, risks, opportunities, financial implications, societal impacts, and recommend post-acquisition ESG actions.
ESG Health Checks: Understand key stakeholders, assess ESG maturity, and identify strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement.

Responsible investment

Challenges: Funding for climate and social aspects is essential. Sustainable development goals (SDGs) and energy, transportation, and climate change norms require attention.

How we can help you:

Strategy and Transformation: Facilitate finance access, identify and manage environmental and social risk, and provide circular economy advice.
Reporting and Assurance: Offer impact valuation.

Safety, health, and environment

Challenges: Regulations demand improved compliance and performance. Global resilience in these areas is weak. NGOs monitor and expect higher standards.

How we can help you:

Strategy and Transformation: Assess risk, due diligence for mergers/acquisitions, and implement controls.
Reporting and Assurance: Conduct internal and external compliance audits.

Sustainable value chains

Challenges: Vulnerable value chains face resource health, availability, and quality concerns. Stakeholder expectations are evolving.

How we can help you:

Strategy and Transformation: Analyze the health and viability of inputs, define ambition, develop implementation plans, and integrate identified risks into your risk management framework.
Training: Educate your staff on new supply chain risk policies and processes.
Reporting and Assurance: Disclose your company's progress towards responsible business and supply chain commitments.

Latest insights

17 results

07/03/25

Tax Case Summaries

Explore our latest Tax case summaries: Discounts Granted to Distributors by Manufacturers Should Not be deducted from the Ex-Factory Price when computing LED on the Products.

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Tax and Legal alerts

Explore our latest Tax Alert: New Financial reporting requirement to facilitate Automatic Exchange of Information between tax authorities

28/02/25

Key Reflections on the Bank of Uganda’s Cyber Risk Management Guidelines

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