ESG as a concept has evolved greatly over the past few years and reaches many aspects of the corporate decision-making process and equally with investment decision-making. That growth has presented opportunities for investors and organisations to measure and improve practices across all aspects of the E, S, and G. Globally we see the improving practices with:
- Environmental with more companies committing to carbon goals and more biodiversity awareness
- Social initiatives with more inclusive CSR policies, board, management, and employee gender and ethnicity representation
- Governance through board composition, shareholder rights, engagements, and voting.
ESG reporting continues to evolve with different regulatory situations globally. These changes have driven the availability of data (clean, comparable, and consistent data) but still one of the biggest and ever-growing struggles is to capture, measure, and analyze that data. Multiple studies have been published that point to confusion in ESG ratings and rankings which cloud the analysis process with uncertainty and data risk. The plans for uniform taxonomies and standards, in the form of objective standards for ESG reporting and disclosure, cannot transpire soon enough.
What is new in the UAE?
The Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) now requires public joint stock companies listed in the UAE to adhere to specific ESG disclosure requirements. Essentially, listed companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) or the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) must now disclose their ESG performance annually starting in 2020.
LR Consultants, a specialist team of ESG professionals, can equip your business with the knowledge and practical solutions required to meet these requirements and integrate ESG into your company’s operations. At LR Consultants we focus on what is significantly material, we have scientifically trained experts with extensive managerial and sectoral experience. We are highly competent Impact Assessment professionals, going beyond existing CSR and sustainability capacities. We are cognisant of the complex nature of ESG. Our experts have the knowledge about financial materiality just as much as the non-financial ESG-related aspects.
ESG covers a vast area of different disciplines and topics, for which sectoral experts are indispensable. An expert in biodiversity is not necessarily an expert in energy-related carbon emission reduction technologies. LR Consultants diverse team can cover that complexity of ESG factors. As non-financial data becomes more science-driven, and the topic broadens from purely financial considerations, investors and companies that are serious about ESG need advice from experts with scientific backgrounds, be it from the E, S, or G areas. Our presence within your organisation will lead to ‘cross-pollination’ effects, wherein practitioners with financial, business, and management backgrounds will learn from our scientist counterparts, and vice-versa. . Through our Digital ESG Enterprise platform and our demonstrated value proposition, a customized step-by-step approach will be presented to reduce risks, increase capital impact and generate positive economic returns.
LR Consultants has established collaborations, associations and partnerships with Subject Matter Experts currently working in the ESG hot spots of North America and Europe. This access to high-value resources further supplements our technical and scientific expertise that will benefit listed public companies within the UAE and other GCC countries.