June was Pride Month and the subject of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) has been at the forefront of everyone’s mind. However, for small businesses, ESG and D&I can seem like challenging topics. With smaller employee numbers, it can be difficult for individuals to feel comfortable speaking up, and often there isn’t a dedicated HR representative to handle D&I policies.

Even though the term ESG has been around for a while, during the pandemic it started gaining momentum among policymakers, regulators and investors.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs, as they are widely referred to, were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 and provide a framework for sustainable development that aims to bring peace and prosperity for people and the planet now and into the future. This agenda consists of 17 goals, such as ending poverty and hunger, achieving gender equality, ensuring affordable and clean energy and sustainable cities and communities.

In 2005 a conference titled “Who Cares Wins” took place in Zurich bringing together investors, consultants, asset managers, research analysts, government bodies and regulators to explore the environmental, social and governance value drivers in asset management and financial research. This is when the term ESG was used for the first time.