Sustainability has become the burning issue that businesses need to address in the wake of the 2020 Covid disruption, and technology and services providers are responding rapidly to fill gaps in current operating models. The shift in attention is not just hot air. Multiple firms are putting serious money behind the effort. As just one example, the accounting firm PwC announced in June that it would spend $12 billion over five years to create 100,000 new jobs aimed at helping its clients grapple with climate and diversity reporting, as well as in artificial intelligence, according to a Reuters report.
Part of that staggering 35% increase in planned headcount — PwC currently employs 284,000 professionals globally — is a perceived need to help businesses understand and comply with the exact requirements of “sustainability,” a broad term that can encompass many topics and subareas. To fully understand sustainability in the business context, we need to know what exactly the key concepts mean, why they’re important and what technology to use for the best return on your investment.
A common error that we’ve encountered in conversations with businesspeople and providers alike is that the “S” in CSR and ESG are mistakenly referred to as “sustainability,” when in both instances it stands for “social.” If one word trips people up, imagine the confusion that could arise around “net zero” or what a “circular economy” means. Getting these terms right is not just a matter of semantics. Agreement on what exactly is being discussed is essential to aligning on actions to take.