_edited.png)
Sustainability and ESG frameworks present a unique opportunity to help you identify social impact risk and opportunities, and improve:
cognitive functioning
neurodivergent & mental health and
employee productivity at the workplace.
We are living in a rapidly dynamic work environment, where deadlines creep closer, hours worked continue to increase and performance expectations are very high, and we at Simplify Climate believe the “Social ” of ESG is somewhat forgotten or faded in significance.
After all, an organisation cannot achieve net zero status if its employees do not behave in a net zero manner.
Why should we care? Statistics speak for themselves
Sickness absence rates have surged by 13% since 2022 and 67% since 2019.
In 2024: 41% of employers anticipating increased demand for Mental health support from employees.
15% of working-age adults globally have a mental health disorder, making it the leading cause of disability worldwide.
74% of employees in the US believe it's appropriate to discuss mental health at work, only 58% feel comfortable doing so.
65% of the workforce want to work for organisations with a strong Sustainability and ESG agenda- due to labour practices and human rights.
4 out of 5 companies in UK show a pay disparity between men and women, with a median gap of 9.1%.
Obesity rates, dementia and mobility issues at the workplace are skyrocketing.
There are significant knowledge gaps in the understanding of menopause and female productivity at the workplace (including menopause).
Some initial steps to consider when integrating social into your business model:
Step 1 – Navigating Employee Sentiment: Perform an anonymous employee sentiment review across your organisation to understand the expectations required by you as an employer. These discussions should be held internally and ensuring a clear separation by role and age.
Step 2 – Crafting Clarity: The findings from the internal anonymous sentiment reviews can be summarised in a double materiality matrix. This can be a great summary to the board of directors.
Step 3 – Exploring Stakeholder Expectations: Have you assessed what your stakeholders expect from you re: workforce ESG commitments?
Step 4 – Empowering Your Reporting: have you integrated Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") in your HR and employee related policies?
Step 5 - Other considerations: New guidance designed to help organizations support employees experiencing menopause or menstruation and better enable them to retain experienced and talented people of all ages has been published by BSI.
"We live in a world designed around men and their 24-hour hormonal cycle; expecting people to show up consistently five days a week, eight hours a day. People with periods aren’t designed that way. Gender equity is not creating space for 50% of the population to fit into a men’s mould. It is changing the way society operates, creating space for all genders to reach their full potential. This requires a system-level change.” - Marlou Cornelissen, Founder Period Reality.
The above steps will help you enhance your understanding of your workforce helping you identify areas where you can boost your workforce cognitive functioning, female productivity and societal impact reporting. This will bring a reduction in operational costs and help you achieve sustainable profits.
How can we support you?
We at Simplify Climate, a GRI community member entity, believe the integration of ESG can really help increase understanding of wellbeing at the workplace helping unlock employee productivity gains by improving cognitive functioning in your workforce.
Please reach out to bindi@simplifyclimate.co.uk and arrange an initial consultation with our ESG doctor.
Let's work together to promote better cognitive functioning, nutrition and physical wellbeing at work to help unlock the full potential of your workforce! Stay tuned for more insights from Simplify Climate.
Comments