ESG is broken; business leaders and Erin Brockovich share the smart solution, based on insourcing

Datamaran unveils Smart ESG in a teaser for its forthcoming docuseries the ‘New Heroes of Sustainable Business’ at Climate Week NYC

New York City, September 15, 2023 – ESG is critical to addressing the climate crisis, and this Climate Week NYC, leading experts are calling for a new approach to rescue the failing system – one that’s based on insourcing. At a fully booked event hosted by Datamaran in New York on Tuesday September 19th, experts will discuss their proven new approach to ESG on a panel moderated by international broadcast journalist Shakuntala Santhiran. Erin Brockovich, consumer advocate, author and TV host, will deliver an inspiring keynote for business heroes committed to sustainability and driving organizational change. 

Datamaran will also preview the trailer of the much-anticipated docuseries, ‘New Heroes of Sustainable Business’, at the event. “This is a first-of-its-kind docuseries, which turns the current way of thinking about ESG on its head, with peers speaking directly to business leaders about the issues that matter to them” said Marjella Lecourt-Alma, CEO of Datamaran. 

The docuseries features C-suite leaders who are successfully navigating their businesses through three significant ESG challenges: fast-paced change, increased scrutiny and a growing ESG skills gap. These challenges are hindering leaders’ ability to lead, as they face the growing risk of greenwashing.

Despite being largely unaddressed, the ESG skills gap is leaving leaders unprepared and unsupported to guide companies through the climate crisis. It is caused by a convergence of three factors: ESG advisors are scrambling to run the necessary projects for their clients, C-suite and senior management don’t have sufficient ESG knowledge and the limited number of qualified ESG experts can choose not to work for companies that lack genuine ESG focus.

“These problems are creating a deep gap in ESG skills, and we are seeing this impacting the ability of businesses to operate successfully,” said Lecourt-Alma. “There is an ESG skills gap at every level of business today, and this means the current solution isn’t working – it’s affecting the ability of leaders to lead. We believe the solution lies inside the company; it’s about insourcing ESG expertise and embedding it from the top down.”

The solution ESG experts present in the docuseries and at the event is Smart ESG – not just a new approach but an entirely new category. This evolution in the way we do ESG starts with governance, ensuring leaders are equipped to make informed strategic decisions about ESG action, monitoring and reporting.

“The question about do you in-source or outsource the capability? I'm a heavy believer that you have to have that capability inside,” said Stephen Crawford, executive vice president, manufacturing and chief sustainability officer for Eastman. “And the reason is: I don't see ESG as something that you're just doing to ensure you align with regulation; ESG is now the heart of the strategy of corporations.”

Strategic decision making can’t be outsourced; instead, Smart ESG is built on a foundation of insourcing - bringing ESG skills within the business. It uses technology to get the right information to the right people at the right time, to power decisions. Smart ESG uses reliable real-time data to enable fast and efficient decisions, it is in-house, so companies can own their strategies, and focus only on what matters – more importantly, divert resources from the areas that are less critical. This efficiency helps reduce the need for outsourcing and the costs associated with it.

Datamaran is the Smart ESG tech platform that helps leaders to lead. “People come to us because Datamaran is built by both technology and ESG experts – they can trust it now and be reassured it will continue to evolve into the future,” said Lecourt-Alma. “With this Smart ESG solution, companies can scale their own expertise through technology. That’s the future of ESG; that’s how we take it from box-ticking compliance to an integral part of all businesses, as a function that creates opportunities, value and profit.” 

Smart ESG needs a tech stack; Datamaran is its foundation. Find out more at Datamaran.com.