How To Leverage ESG + Tech to Accelerate Your Corporate DEI Narrative

The rise of the ESG (environment, social, and governance) movement has encouraged businesses to hold themselves accountable for their effects on people and the environment. However, a recent Accenture survey found that 93% of companies still haven’t integrated their technology and sustainability strategies to meet their ESG goals.

This is a missed opportunity for businesses everywhere, as achieving environmental and social goals has become an indispensable part of remaining competitive in the modern market. That’s why we’re going to explore how implementing technology can protect, enhance, and create value for your business — all while improving your DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) narrative.

What’s Your Current ESG + Tech Value Proposition?

Just because you integrate tech with ESG doesn’t mean you’ll create value; the “tech plus ESG” equation is much more nuanced than that. To help visualize this, let’s break ESG and tech outcomes into four categories what I call as ESG+T business framework so you can determine where you currently fit:

• Tech as Access & Innovation Creators: The social component of ESG covers human rights, gender and diversity, labor dynamics, and employee engagement. Technology can be pivotal toward these aims, especially when it’s used to measure DEI shortcomings and open up access for underserved groups. This is key to creating an innovative modern workforce.
• Tech as Planet Protectors: The environmental component of ESG includes factors such as carbon emissions, energy efficiency, waste management, and water scarcity. Businesses can leverage technology to increase their operation efficiencies, reduce waste, and minimize their environmental impact overall. In this way, technology acts as a planet protector.
• Tech as Profit Enablers: Beyond ESG concerns, technology plays a major role in profit enablement. By automating processes and implementing cutting-edge AI or cloud practices, businesses can use technology to speed up acquisition and operations, increasing revenue and lowering costs.
• Tech as Community Developers: Community relations are another crucial component of ESG. Businesses that invest in their communities can become powerful fixtures in their areas and promote positive social change within and outside of the workplace.

How is your business employing technology to reach its ESG goals? After all, one fundamental assumption of the ESG movement is that the businesses most concerned with their effect on people and the environment will be more successful in the long run. In this way, investing in and designing strategies that encourage ESG plus tech value creation is also an investment in your business’ future.

Achieve DEI as an ESG + Tech Value Creator

The future of the market will be led by businesses that don’t just generate economic value but also social value. To this end, DEI is one of the most significant components for business leaders, stakeholders, customers, and employees. Has your business adapted to the new standards for diversity, equity, and inclusion? If not, your ESG + tech journey can help pave the way. Here are just a few ways you can position your business as a DEI leader:

• ESG + Tech Strategy: Businesses must invest in ESG+Tech based solution identification and implementation to achieve sustainable value. This requires knowing what metrics matter to your company, what tech implementation can help you accurately capture them, and how you can leverage ESG + tech to have a positive impact on people, the community, and the planet.
• Develop a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE): Successfully implementing cloud infrastructure can protect, enhance, and create a lot of value for a business — and help develop the future of the workplace. The CCoE is key to unlocking this value because it enforces the industry best practices necessary to achieve cloud-enabled transformation. See an example of how RV College of Engineering did their roll out of CCoE.
• Invest in Cloud and AI Training: Cloud and AI fundamentals are the future of the workplace; are your employees trained accordingly? Investing in cloud and AI skilling programs is key to having a tech-literate business that can continue innovating into the future. This is especially important for businesses that are striving to become cloud-enabled.
• Set up ESG Reporting Automation: ESG disclosure is when companies show the world the progress they have made toward their goals. The next step toward the future of ESG is automated data collection and disclosure that’s more efficient and more accurate. Not only can this save time and money, but it can also elevate ESG storytelling and highlight your business’ DEI journey.
• Leadership Readiness: Finally, you need C-Suite buy-in. Your ESG goals should be reflected at every level of your business, starting from the top down. Is your leadership team ready to lead the ESG + Tech change?

Your Corporate ESG + Tech Strategy Starts Here

At Women in Cloud (WiC), we developed a leadership program that leverages tech and DEI to empower entrepreneurs to ignite economic access for women.

Our Corporate ESG Women’s Leadership Program (WICxLead) helps CEOs and their board of directors develop an ESG plus T business case and operating model, all while accelerating brand, thought, and community development. Are you ready to become an ESG leader?