How CEOs create a strategy for social added value and how to make this count

I gave answers in my interview “After green comes good” in Creditreform from Handelsblatt,

the leading German business magazine for decision-makers in the SME sector with strategic background knowledge, practical examples and concrete implementation tips!

Highlighting how CEOs create a strategy for social added value and how you can make this count,

the top 3 takeaways from my Creditreform interview about the “S” social responsibility in ESG are

1. Cultural change necessary

“Companies have gone through various stages of ESG maturity.”

93 percent of them already have at least one ESG indicator that shows the development of the topic. But: ESG is still too often viewed from a risk perspective, Victoria Riess points out — and as individual projects that drift loosely through the organization.

“One ESG KPI alone does not trigger the cultural change that companies need for a sustainable strategy. It’s time for an ESG and sustainability approach that puts people at the center.”

2. New key figures across all levels

For companies that are not yet at this stage, Victoria Riess recommends implementing new transformation KPIs that measure the process of ESG cultural change.

“It is worth focusing on a broad range of new informal transformation performance metrics,” says the strategy consultant. “And across all levels of the organization, rather than just narrow financial and formal metrics.”

Their focus should be on learning and development as well as continuous communication and engagement.

3. Measurable results

In order to drive the change towards a sustainable company, management consultant Victoria Riess recommends that managers introduce transformation KPIs — for example

• Quantity and quality of training. Percentage of employees trained, such as what percentage of the leadership team has been trained to work with the new processes and skills required for a circular economy
• Use of learning platforms and ESG intranet
• Leadership metrics, such as what percentage of middle managers have a metric for cross-functional collaboration, including leadership, employee motivation for the ESG goal or company purpose

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