ESG Investing, the next trending topic around the world

Have you encountered ESG yet? It’s a growing phenomenon that is spreading rapidly around the world. Whether you’re young or old, it’s the new way to invest in the right opportunities. Still curious? We’ll talk about its relationship with CSR and the unique link it shares with Salesforce and VASS that makes ESG investing fast and efficient.

What is ESG Investing?

ESG stands for environment, social and governance. Investing in long term value creation, promoting environmental and societal responsible organisations.

Let’s explore the three main criteria to evaluate companies for ESG investing:

-Environmental: What impact does the company have on climate change?
-Social: What social impact does it have on the company and its community?
–Governance: How well does it manage its responsibilities and expectations among its governance stakeholders to drive positive change?

ESG is becoming much more prevalent among younger generations. A global trend that encourages sustainable and ethical businesses to grow with the help of corporate governance.

CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility

CSR is a business model which makes companies aware of its social-environmental impact. Through the CSR model’s engagement, we can observe that investors are now starting to turn to organisations with ESG credentials to make sure they are having a positive impact on society. Economically, environmentally and socially speaking, it is essential that investors’ values match those of the company they are investing in, forging a bond based on a similar purpose and work ethic.

According to Pensions & Investments, “The value of global assets applying environmental, social and governance data to drive investment decisions has almost doubled over four years, and more than tripled over eight years, to $40.5 trillion in 2020.”

This rapid growth shows how important it has become for these large financial institutions to adopt ESG values and criteria. Being in a comfortable position to relay real-time information and store it for the future is extremely important.

The path to integrating ESG with Salesforce

When looking to invest, it becomes essential to be in a position to store and manage your information effectively. Update and flag details concerning any given investment at any given time. Here is when Salesforce and VASS come into play.

Salesforce provides a platform that enables investors to collect, monitor, manage and report on their ESG strategy, allowing them to do good’ while meeting their shareholders’ expectations. The storing of relevant information is then easily consumed and interpreted using intuitive reports, dashboards and analytical information. For example, when you are required to cover an AGM, it is essential to gather and store all information relating to the organisation’s activity. In this case, concerning its environmental, social and governance (ESG) procedures. 

How do different departments in the company comply with ESG standards? This is where Salesforce and VASS come into play. By using Salesforce, VASS will create a solution based on industry standards, as well as bespoke companies’ requirements. The information collected is made available to all the relevant stakeholders, whether they be internal or external to the investment company. By using categorisation and dissemination relevantly, companies will track, measure and act upon the information obtained.

Ultimately, it is about equipping the customer with a source of information ready for them to use when needed. Being proactively informed when the market or companies in which the investment is made changes, whether positive or negative. As Salesforce Chairman and CEO, Marc Benioff said, “Doing well by doing good is no longer just a competitive advantage. It’s becoming a business imperative.”

ESG ensures that shareholders value is maximised while adhering to the improvement of the environment and society in general.

VASS – our ESG expertise

As different institutions offer different ESG accreditations, you will need to demonstrate how your company promotes environmental and social responsibilities. It is vital to configure Salesforce to address not only ESG criteria but also your organisation’s internal requirements, to manage and share this information effectively.

From an environmental, social and governance point of view, organisations are being held accountable more so than ever. This is a positive change to ultimately do the right thing while running a successful business, whether it be large or small. Improving the world we live in and raising awareness of working together to achieve this social and economic shift towards more sustainable and ethical values is of utmost importance for the future.

It is essential to apply non-financial factors as part of the investment analysis process. ESG metrics are not necessarily directly correlated to the financial side of an organisation. To manage, disseminate and leverage that information effectively, in some cases, artificial intelligence such as Salesforce Einstein is applied, where the necessary information is extrapolated and made more attractive for clients, focusing on the areas they are interested in investing in.

The Global Reporting Initiative enables organisations to be transparent and takes responsibility for their impact by offering a comprehensive set of sustainable reporting standards. In this way, we can look at the reporting index and determine whether a specific organisation is worth investing in.

But why, VASS?

VASS is a Global Salesforce Platinum Consulting Partner. Founded in 1999, with a mission to offer clients cutting-edge specialised solutions.

Our Financial Services, ESG and CSR experience coupled with our 10+ years delivering Salesforce implementations, translates into ever-growing business value and success for our customers.