Pragma research explores companies’ position on ESG

No one in the built environment sector, or any sector for that matter, can deny that ESG (environmental, social and governance) is a hot topic.

Investors now consider a company’s record across ESG factors essential when making investment decisions where the focus is no longer solely on the commercial aspects of a scheme.

Yet with all the buzz around ESG, Pragma has found that many organisations face challenges in ESG reporting and in gathering the information they need when reporting on ESG performance.

To understand the challenges businesses face, Pragma surveyed 500 C-suite executives and key decision makers to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions and challenges faced by business leaders regarding ESG reporting and tracking.

Respondents were spread across a wide range of sectors across the globe including manufacturing, education, construction, retail, hospitality and many more. In summary, it was found that:

1. ESG is still not prioritised as highly as it should be with only 29% of respondents rating their ESG reporting as extremely effective
2. Many organisations face challenges in ESG reporting and only 30% of respondents are still only reporting on ESG either quarterly or annually
3. Organisations believe in the holistic benefits of ESG reporting. Integrating ESG within the business strategy was the number 1 reason that respondents gave when asked what would make their ESG reporting more effective
4. ESG reporting boosts performance when tied to strategy, although there is still work to be done in terms of execution
5. ESG reporting is seen as an all-round effective benchmarking tool, with 81% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that “ESG reporting gives investors a picture of the company’s future performance”

To enable organisations to address these issues, Pragma has developed Pulse, a platform which tracks and utilises ESG data to improve commercial performance.

Alex Avery, chief executive of Pragma said: “We are very excited to be bringing Pulse to the market, a platform that can effectively and efficiently track, assess, and present an assets’ ESG performance against its commercial viability. I believe it will be a game-changer for all sectors as currently, ESG is measured in silos, not really adding much direction to business strategies.”