Realising the ‘S’ in ESG

As part of planning approval and contractual requirements, developers must meet descriptive social and environmental expectations from local governments.^[i]

This act “requires public authorities to have regard to economic, social and environmental wellbeing in connection with public services contracts; and for connected purposes.”[ii]

In September 2020, central government issued a public procurement notice for all local government procurement. As part of this, the government also issued a Social Value model, focusing on themes to help rebuild society post Covid-19:

• Covid-19 recovery
• Tackling economic inequality
• Fighting climate change
• Equal opportunity
• Wellbeing 

Businesses need to be proactive corporate citiziens within society. It’s more than just being profitable, but also going further to help tackle societal issues, promote equality and a good quality of life for people now, and for future generations.

“Sustainable investing will continue to rise in popularity, driven primarily by high-net-worth millennials who are more socially conscious in investing”. 

The current $502 billion in global impact investments is predicted to grow to $1 trillion by 2021.