Investigating the impact of ESG by playing a game
Introduction to ESG & CSRD
ESG (Environment. Social and Governance) are the factors companies have to comply to according the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) from the European Union. ESG is divided into 17 pillars like energy usage & efficiency, responsible supply chain partnerships and ethical business practices. ESG comes with standards, regulations and reporting frameworks.
CSRD is, in short a timeframe for companies to adhere to with regards to the compliance of ESG and the reporting. We see that ESG is common ground for the multinationals. They have ESG functions created and hired the right people to make sure the company complies to the CSRD rules & regulations. But smaller companies, which might be on the CSRD roadmap at a later stage, tend to push this new responsibility forward. They are ‘kicking the can down the road’.
Why companies struggle to implement ESG
These smaller companies will need to adjust to the ESG rules & regulations sooner or later. This could be based on the timeframes as stated in the CSRD (this is based on the size of the company), or the supply chain demands. For example, a large retailer needs to report based on its full supply chain. So the supplier to the retailer is requested to start to deliver ESG-related information to the retailer. Many organisations are getting impacted on the ESG rules & regulations, one way or the other.
We see that large, multinational organisations have established new ESG departments to hire the right skills. ESG specialist make sure the right actions are planned and reporting is in place. Smaller organisations struggle to comply to the reporting requirements. In some cases HR or Finance are asked to collect the required data and report on a periodic base internal as well to external stakeholders. This additional workload is mitigated by additional modules in HR-software, but does cause an additional workload.
For companies that need to comply to ESG, especially the smaller ones with no dedicated ESG -experts, it is more complicated to see what needs to be done, when and what the impact will be. If you need to start ESG actions with your suppliers to make sure that child labour is abolished, you not only need to agree with, but also support your suppliers. With education, financially and resources.
But where to start? And what is the impact from downstream your supply chain to upstream?What actions can you take, which programs do you need to install to support your suppliers. Which data points to collect to be able to report on it? Smaller companies that start to look into this ESG topic feel overwhelmed and find it difficult to start.
ESG Game to the rescue
Fortunately there is a solution: the ESG game! In this game, employees play different roles (Management, Finance, Supply Chain) to establish a company goal to achieve (part of) the ESG standards. Played over several rounds where each round has a new assignment, decisions across the different roles have to be aligned and the (limited) budget has to be spent wisely. After each round, the impact of the actions are calculated to see if these brought the company closer to the set goals. Adjustments can be made after each round to make sure that at the end of the game the goal is reached.
The game platform offers many advantages, like collaboration across departments (roles), a safe place to test, the ability to see the impact of the specific actions and a holistic overview of the supply chain, the relations between the parties involved (up- and downstream) and the possible actions your company can take. After each round, a debrief is done with the teams to learn from each other. At the end of the game, the general learnings and next steps for your company will be summarised as a starting point.
The ESG game is a safe environment to start with your ESG journey. What actions can we take, what is the impact across our supply chain, what are the costs involved, what are the benefits, how can we mobilise our suppliers, how can we internally align our actions. By playing this ESG game, you learn to tackle the issue from different angles to create a set of actions your company can implement in the real world. It inspires your employees, creates the required awareness across the departmenst and helps to decide where to start and what actions to take.
Interested what value this game can add to your ESG journey? Contact me at jan.veerman@planadigm.com or call me at +316 – 5188 4701.
