Our thinking

Is it the Baader-Meinhof effect?

18 June, 2021

Over the last few weeks, we’ve written several articles around the importance of the often absent ‘S’ in ESG and vital role of anthropological intelligence. This week, as if they heard our call, KPMG released a roadmap for global progress on social standards which neatly summarised the challenges for business.  

Environmental and social issues are inextricably linked – we have seen it time and time again during the pandemic, in describing the consequences of climate change on developing countries, in the impact of deforestation on indigenous people to name just a few. But what does this mean for business, and how can we place the same emphasis on social standards as we do on environmental standards? 

As we’ve said before, measurement and transparency are king. This is fundamental to all change, whether environmental or social. It’s also useful to have a clear goal to coalesce around – like the drive to net zero. The problem is that there is no ‘decarbonise’ equivalent in the social space around which everyone (or most people) agree. Without consensus on what we want to achieve, as a global community, finding a credible way to measure progress is a challenge. The SDGs do provide some guidance and a shared common goal, but some of the targets are intangible and broad, and the light-touch ‘SDG-wash’ commonly employed waters down the drive for meaningful change.  

The report provides a few recommendations: achieve global consensus on social principles; define minimum standards; champion a single social principle; create measurable targets at an appropriate level of granularity; and build momentum quickly. While we agree with most of these in principle, we’ve been having some thoughts of our own. Helping businesses tackle inequality is at the heart of Good Business, so get in touch if you’ve felt inspired to take on the challenge. 

By Jennie Mitchell