Companies Performing Well On ESG Are Better Positioned In Long Term: Experts

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Deepak John | The Peninsula

Doha: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards have become the hallmark of socially responsible investors. And today, many investors and financial institutions now consider it essential to align their portfolio with wider ESG performance as the companies that perform well on ESG are better positioned for the long term and better prepared for the risks and uncertainties, discussed experts during an online event. 

Al Attiyah Foundation in partnership with Refinitiv and LSEG organised a webinar entitled 'ESG Transformation: Seizing the Opportunity', which discussed that the COVID-19 crisis has presented an opportunity for businesses to focus on their ESG performance. However, adopting ESG principles comes with its own set of challenges from identifying the best reporting framework to the lack of standards for measuring results or impacts. 

Addressing the event, Leo Chi Wai Tong, Head of Sustainability at Qatar National Bank (QNB) said:“We as QNB and sustainability team are looking at a number of disclosures and different reporting standards. We engaged our stakeholders in what is important and understand their priorities and see from the various reporting standards available which was the best suited. We are predominately using the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) Standards which is also being used in the region and have been doing this for the last five years. We found the GRI standard captured the needs of stakeholders, but we coupled this with our disclosures to ESG rating companies”. 

Speaking about the positive impacts from the growing momentum of ESG, he pointed that in banking and financial services sector those companies that focus on ESG have outperformed those that do not, and this has been consistent even during the pandemic as well. For example, he said:“We issued our first sustainable debt instrument green bond, the first in Qatar and remains one of the largest conventional green bonds from a bank in the region. This has demonstrated to the market that we have meaningful sustainability ESG plan together with identified risks and opportunities, and this bond was listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) which allows to tap into a pool of capital, have international investors, and engage in accessible community which from a financial perspective has been positive.

“When an organisation understands that spectrum of ESG is a broad topic including self-security, health and safety, general diversity, training, governance, and it is not just climate or environmental. This means that there is not a single division or department in an organisation that is not impacted by it and when an organisation understands this it starts the journey to embed ESG and it should take action with ESG in everything it does,” he added.

Ali Al Shabibi, Partner, Governance & Risk, Business Transformation and ESG at KPMG Qatar discussed what can business leaders do to tackle and take on the potential of ESG. 

Speaking about disclosure and reporting he said:“We need to see how ready organisations are to start reporting, do they have the right data and infrastructure as they need to produce reports. And from the government side what should you be asking the business community to report on”. He added:“I think that the best thing that governments can do is set a road map for the business and investor community as it takes time for organisations to get ready and government plays the part of setting the direction for it”.

Ivano Ianelli, Board Director of ESG Foundation shed light on the benefits that ESG can bring to company's stakeholders, stating that ESG is to be seen as ability for a company to sustain its business model in a long run, in an ever-changing environment. Howard Bevan, Director of Energy at Al Attiyah Foundation shared the aspects of ESG that corporations are struggling to address. Nawied Jabarkhyl, News Anchor and Correspondent at CGTN moderated the virtual event.

MENAFN16062022000063011010ID1104384234