Why sustainable business
is good business.
Meaning · 01
A wider business lens.
At its simplest, sustainability is the discipline of understanding the conditions a business depends on, the effects it creates and the way those relationships are managed—and putting that data to work.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations remain useful lenses when they are grounded in material matters, robust methods and reliable data. In practice, sustainability also brings into view the wider non-financial conditions that affect whether a business can continue to operate and create value.
Three connected lenses
01 / ENVIRONMENTAL
Operating conditions
Resources, energy, materials, water, assets, ecosystems and physical conditions.
02 / SOCIAL
People and relationships
Workforce, customers, suppliers, communities, institutions and affected groups.
03 / GOVERNANCE
Governance and management
Information, responsibilities, incentives, controls, processes and decisions.
Wider context · Technology, data, supply continuity, markets, reputation and the business model cut across all three lenses.
Value · 02
Why it matters.
Sustainability can improve how a business performs, withstands change, competes and creates value.
01 / OPERATIONAL
Operational
performance
Use resources, information and organisational
capacity more intelligently.
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Efficiency and cost
Use energy, materials, water, logistics, assets and other operational resources more intelligently.
Information and decisions
Make activities, dependencies and impacts clearer so resources can be allocated more effectively.
Workforce and organisation
Strengthen working conditions, skills, engagement, retention and capacity to adapt.
Process and asset performance
Use better operating information to improve reliability, maintenance and asset utilisation.
02 / RESILIENCE
Resilience and
risk management
Make disruption, exposure and changing
requirements more manageable.
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Business continuity
Maintain operations through supply disruption, resource constraints, extreme events and changing market conditions.
Risk management
Identify supply-chain, regulatory, physical, transition, operational and reputational risks earlier.
Regulatory preparedness
Meet applicable requirements and prepare for future regulation, reporting and data requests.
Licence to operate
Maintain constructive relationships with regulators, institutions, communities and affected stakeholders.
03 / MARKET
Market position
and growth
Support commercial access, innovation,
differentiation and trust.
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Access to customers and markets
Participate in tenders, supplier programmes and value chains with sustainability requirements.
Innovation
Identify opportunities for new products, services, processes and business models.
Competitive position
Demonstrate stronger performance and preparedness where sustainability is commercially relevant.
Trust
Create a stronger basis for credible communication and durable stakeholder relationships.
04 / FINANCIAL
Financial strength
and enterprise value
Improve the information and conditions relevant
to finance and durable value.
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Finance and investment
Support access to credit and investment where sustainability performance, risk or disclosure is considered.
Insurance
Improve the risk information and preventive measures relevant to insurance and insurability.
Assets and bankability
Strengthen the quality, resilience and long-term commercial viability of assets and projects.
Long-term value
Protect existing value, respond earlier to change and identify opportunities for durable growth.
Evidence · 03
From context to evidence.
In practice, sustainability is what a business can measure and evidence. Reliable data establish the current position, support analysis and provide a basis for action.
01 / Environment
E1 · Climate change — Energy use, fuel mix, greenhouse-gas emissions and physical or transition exposure.
Practical KPI examples: total energy consumed, renewable share, Scope 1 and 2 emissions, emissions intensity.
E2 · Pollution — Releases to air, water or soil, hazardous substances and pollution incidents.
Practical KPI examples: pollutant releases, substances of concern, spills and recorded incidents.
E3 · Water and marine resources — Water withdrawal, consumption, discharge and exposure to water-stressed locations.
Practical KPI examples: water withdrawn and consumed, water intensity, stressed-area share and discharge quality.
E4 · Biodiversity and ecosystems — Location, land use, dependencies and effects on ecosystems.
Practical KPI examples: sites near sensitive areas, land affected, impact coverage and restoration.
E5 · Resource use and circular economy — Material inputs, product design, waste, circularity and recovery.
Practical KPI examples: material input, recycled content, waste generated and recovery or recycling rate.
02 / People and relationships
S1 · Own workforce — Working conditions, health and safety, equality, rights and skills.
Practical KPI examples: turnover, injury frequency, training hours and gender pay gap.
S2 · Workers in the value chain — Working conditions and rights in upstream and downstream activities.
Practical KPI examples: supplier-assessment coverage, findings, corrective actions and remediation.
S3 · Affected communities — Business-related effects, community engagement, rights and grievance handling.
Practical KPI examples: sites screened, engagement coverage, grievances received and resolution rate.
S4 · Consumers and end-users — Safety, information, accessibility and other product or service effects.
Practical KPI examples: safety incidents, complaints, corrective actions and accessibility issues.
03 / Governance and management
G1 · Business conduct — Corporate culture, supplier practices, anti-corruption, whistleblowing and payment practices.
Practical KPI examples: training coverage, confirmed incidents, reports resolved and average payment time.
ESRS 2 · General disclosures — Governance, strategy, responsibilities, impact and risk management, policies, actions, metrics and targets.
Practical KPI examples: oversight frequency, policy coverage, action-plan completion and data or target coverage.
Orientation only. These examples are based on ESRS. The relevant KPIs will vary with the company’s needs, context, material matters and applicable requirements. Product, due-diligence, customer, finance, insurance and sector requirements may add further evidence needs. Official references: ESRS · EU Taxonomy.
