Environmental and human rights have been gaining significant traction in the business world for the past few years, encouraging companies to act responsibly towards the environment.
Why is it important to be sustainable? Today, investors select organizations by considering non-financial factors as well, such as the ESG Rating. Being a sustainable company means guaranteeing compliance with ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) criteria and transforming them into an opportunity to increase the company’s competitiveness in the markets.
What steps can an organization take to obtain a good ESG rating?
We list 5 of them below!
1) Reduce or eliminate paper consumption as much as possible
The negative impact that paper production has on the environment is often underestimated, as it leads to the consumption of natural resources.
Just think that to make 10 reams of paper, or 5,000 sheets, 2,228 liters of water (27 5-minute showers) and 225 kg of CO2 are needed (like a high-speed train traveling 5,000 km).
To improve its ES rating, a company could start by transforming any paper documentation or operation that naturally involves paper production into digital format. Relying on digital tools such as PEC, digital signature and electronic invoicing turns out to be a sustainable and effective solution to have a positive impact on the environment.
2) Plant trees to offset CO2 production
Even the most environmentally conscious and attentive companies inevitably generate carbon dioxide with their activities, but it is possible to transform it into oxygen by increasing the surrounding plants.
This is what the Mugo project does, which helps companies achieve carbon neutrality. InfoCert has also joined the initiative, managing to offset the emissions of its Data Processing Center (Ced), equal to 321 tons of CO2, the same amount absorbed by 321 trees. It did this by supporting two reforestation and forest management projects.
3) Promote the spread of remote corporate services and processes
Both within companies, in customer-supplier relationships, but also in relations between companies and private individuals and the Public Administration. The benefits are not only economic, in terms of savings on resources needed for travel or time, but also social. Through the use of digital tools, those logistical barriers that make it more difficult for people with motor limitations or disabilities to interact with the PA or companies are in fact eliminated or greatly reduced.
Today it is also possible to provide services digitally by guaranteeing online recognition of the user’s identity on onboarding platforms created specifically to meet this need.
The Revenue Agency has also relied on this type of solution: a virtual desk that allows citizens to interact with them without any travel.
4) Increase the transparency of each process
The traceability of every decision, every agreement signed, every phase of a process, is a fundamental point of the ESG philosophy because it guarantees accountability, or the attribution of precise responsibility for each choice.
5) Guarantee the privacy and security of transactions
In the case of sensitive personal information, it is good governance practice to protect it. We are talking in particular about the data security of company employees, service users, customers or suppliers. The spread of digital tools has brought data protection to the forefront, due to the increase in hacker attacks, which mainly hit email communications through phishing.
It is possible to protect your digital tools through additional solutions that favor their security, aiming to stop malware that escapes traditional antivirus action before the message is delivered to the recipient.
Achieving a high ESG rating is a success factor for companies, attracting talent and customers, and an important tool for their communication and strategy.
