Robert Poole,national lead partner at KPMG.Credit:Wayne Taylor
“From the perspective of boards and from the perspective of our workforce,it’s an important issue,” says Robert Poole,leader of ESG strategy at KPMG Australia.
An organisation’s first ESG manager is usually focused solely on strategy;setting up processes for the company’s ESG approach to be heard,often up to the board level.
Once a company has had an ESG manager for a while,the role evolves.
“Most companies now have put their cards on the table. They’ve written their first sustainability report. Now,they are moving the actions of ESG into operations,” says Poole.
Poole believes ESG responsibilities will eventually become the responsibility of most employees,in the same way we now approach workplace health and safety at work. Sure,overall responsibility lies with the professionals,but each individual in an organisation factors it into their day-to-day thinking.
“More and more[ESG] will become part of everyone’s job,” Poole says.