Medium-Sized hange for the Good
by Dylan McGuire diversity , for example . It also touches on supplier diversity . So how diverse are the suppliers that you work with that supply you with parts for your services ?”
“ And the last one is governance . It deals with the board of directors and any sort of ethics proposals that they have on board . This can be straightforward to track but also is used in risk management to see whether the board has the policies in place in case of , say , a natural disaster or social issues ,” Kiss says .
Greenwashing
ESG was pushed to the forefront when major investment firms began to make it part of their reporting requirements for major companies . However , this led many large companies to make ambitious public environmental claims without a solid plan to fulfill them , which has been called “ greenwashing .”
“ Companies love those headlines because it ’ s a great immediate lift – but they don ’ t need to do anything ,” says Kiss . “ So now what ’ s happening is Wall Street and now the government are starting to hold their feet to the fire …. And now there are standards being put out to say , hey , these are the exact metrics that we want you to report on .”
Supply Chain
Many small to medium-sized companies may not have the direct reporting requirements of larger companies . However , if they fall into the supply chain of a larger public company , they will be required to report on ESG initiatives .
“ So now you may be a smallish mid-size supplier of a very specific part to Boeing . You now have to report that back to them because they need to report that back to the government . So , this is why these companies should be concerned . They may not think it impacts them directly , but if they ’ re involved with any public companies or with the government , this is becoming mandatory ,” says Kiss .
Kiss is one of four partners who started vranda recently to help these companies address ESG .
Kiss and two other partners came from a financial background and moved from New York to start the company , while the fourth partner has more than 20 years of sustainability background from one of the largest companies in the world .
“ We ’ ve got this kind of joint passion for sustainability ,” he says . “ So , we brought this team together , as we thought we could really make a difference , bringing that financial lens together with sustainability .”
ESG Operating System vranda creates what they call an “ ESG Operating Platform ” in order to integrate ESG into their clients ’ operations and workflow . The platform then provides data , analysis and reports so the company can make better decisions and communicate better with investors on ESG .
Kiss says the process starts with a “ materiality wizard ,” which is an online form that collects metrics from throughout the company . “ The ESG really touches on every aspect of the company ,” he says .
“ We talk with all the stakeholders . If they ’ ve got a warehouse manager , transportation department , supply chain operations – and we help those companies first understand what ’ s important to them internally . And then we create a report that ’ s customized to show the metrics and the data that they need to be collecting .” says Kiss .
Alex Kiss
“ So they can see , okay , well , this is what our transportation did . These are their greenhouse gas emissions . We ’ d like this to be at this target . We ’ re below that target . It allows them to really track and monitor their goals and ultimately make a change for the good , and that ’ s what we ’ re really focused on ,” says Kiss .
Dylan McGuire is a Philadelphia-based freelance writer who has written for a variety of industries and publications for more than 25 years . He is also a professional musician ( guitar and vocals ) and plays more than 100 gigs a year when not writing .
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