Consulting firm FTI Consulting has launched the ESG Compass, which helps companies map their sustainability performance to mitigate reputational and business risk.
Consumers and investors have in recent years been pressuring firms to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals into their business strategy. Implementing tangible ESG programs and effectively reporting them has become a key part of many corporate agendas, and this trend has been accelerated by the pandemic – as consumers increasingly want to see how companies are positively contributing their communities during an unprecedented crisis.
An FTI survey that polled global institutional investors at the outset of the pandemic found that 28% believe listed companies are under extreme pressure to improve their ESG credentials.
Tom Evrard, a senior managing director at FTI, said, “The Covid-19 crisis has escalated and accelerated a shift in understanding of ESG as an essential driver of business success and growth. The trend is driven by increasing expectations of investors, customers, and broader society backed by regulatory reforms that are sweeping the globe.”
In response, FTI has launched a new tool to help companies measure and manage their corporate sustainability performance. The ESG Compass benchmarks client performance relative to peers and best practices, and then provides insights and recommendations in relation to stakeholder views and public policy. The tool’s data and research-driven view is complemented by qualitative insights on corporate reputation and policy from FTI’s strategic communications consultants.
“The ESG Compass, in combination with our global policy and capital markets expertise, offers clients a proven, distinct, and highly tailored approach to bolstering their ESG program, safeguarding performance and reputation,” said Mark McCall, global head of FTI Consulting’s strategic communications segment. “It can ensure risks are properly mitigated and opportunities are seized. Boards want short-term resilience as well as longer-term sustainability and we aim to help them to deliver both.”
The tool strengthens FTI’s ESG and sustainability practice, which draws upon the firm’s communications expertise in business, investment, policy, and regulation.
Aside from strategic communications, the firm’s other major segments include corporate finance & restructuring, economic consulting, forensic & litigation consulting, and technology. FTI is based in Washington, DC and has more than 5,500 employees in 27 countries.