Integration of ESG into core business strategy.  

Probability: High

Financial Impact: Some Profit Creation

In 2024, businesses are expected to integrate ESG factors into their core strategies more deeply than ever. This shift is driven by senior leaders who increasingly recognize the significant impact of non-financial performance on financial outcomes. As sustainability practices become more deeply embedded into business operations, they will be leveraged as critical drivers of value creation. This integration fosters innovation, unlocks new market opportunities, and saves costs.

Integrating ESG factors into business strategies is a concern more than compliance or risk management. It represents a fundamental transformation of business models and strategies. This transformation is expected to thoroughly revise design processes, procurement strategies, financial management, and marketing and communication practices across various ESG-related issues¹. Moreover, integrating ESG factors into core business strategies is expected to become a central component of overall corporate strategy, essential for generating sustained value.

This shift will also lead sustainability managers to go from pushing this agenda to enabling other functions to understand it and embedding it into core business activities.

Companies should prepare for these changes by:

• Reevaluating and possibly restructuring business models to incorporate ESG principles. 
• Investing in research and development focused on sustainability.
• Reviewing and updating job profiles so leaders can incorporate sustainability-related aspects into their functions and roles.
• Training and educating employees from all levels so that they can integrate sustainability ambitions into their roles and responsibilities.

Sources:

1. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ie/Documents/Consulting/ie-consulting-cfo-survey-2023-spring.pdf ↩︎