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According to consultants and recruiters, the drive for companies to develop more sustainably is driving an increase in demand for professionals with environmental, social and governance experience.
More than one in five of the largest companies in the world is committed to achieving this zero net emissions and investors increase their focus on the social impact of the companies they support, creating a boom in the market for corporate sustainability.
“The bottom line is that demand far exceeds supply, so there will be a real war for talent and that will include compensation,” said Sarah Galloway, co-leader of sustainability practice for recruiter Russell Reynolds Associates.
Demand for ESG experts is growing in all professional services, including management consultants, store and real estate consulting firms, recruiters and executives.
But they face increasing competition when it comes to attracting and retaining ESG-focused staff, as more companies and fund managers are committed to reducing their carbon footprint and placing greater emphasis on non-financial performance. .
AstraZeneca, Aviva, BT, Legal & General and Rolls-Royce are among the companies that have he pledged to achieve zero net emissions in 2050.
Private equity funds also attract experts to serve as sustainability director and head of ESG with widely varying salaries, according to recruiters.
“Private equity has realized that you can’t go public on a business unless you have a very strong history of sustainability or ESG, so everyone hires heads of ESG or sustainability at very high levels. … to oversee their portfolios, ”Galloway said.
Deliveroo “bombed purely for ESG’s” S “, he argued, referring to the 26% submersion at the price of the food delivery app’s shares when it floated in March. Some big investors had it expressed concerns on the treatment of the group’s workers, as well as their listing and governance of double-class shares, ahead of the disastrous initial public offering.
Private equity buyers recognize that evaluating ESG credentials from potential and existing investments is now a requirement, said Julie Hertzberg, who heads a new ESG consultation at Alvarez & Marsal that looks at client portfolios and possible acquisitions.
“At some point there will be regulation in many countries that requires reporting [of ESG information]”Hertzberg said,” everyone knows it will come. That is the accumulation of that. ”
Even ESG skeptics hire specialists, say those in the industry. “Much of the market is still in a place where they are looking for the hygienic factor. They want the boxes checked so they can say, “Hey, we have an ESG strategy,” said Stuart McLachlan, chief executive of environmental consultancy Anthesis.
The growing expectations that auditors will examine non-financial metrics and corporate accounts are also driving demand for new experience in accounting firms, which recruit specialists and provide training to auditors.
“ESG metrics and reporting are fast becoming a business imperative, especially due to greater investor control, and we aim to advance regulatory reforms by expanding our capacity and capacity in this area,” said Scott Knight, chief audit firm of BDO, the fifth largest accounting firm in the UK.
“Hunger didn’t exist when we evaluated it before, but now the market is evolving rapidly,” he added.
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