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Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is an old construct with a snazzy name and (ugh) another acronym. People tend to lump ESG with CSR whilst examining such standards as GRI, UN SDGs and TCFD. Oh, and don't forget that DEI and serving LMI households also fall under ESG which may lead to LDI and CDFI certifications. By making simple things complex we lose sight of the perspective of David Blood, a pioneer in ESG investing, who provides a simple but effective definition of the topic: "… [the] explicit recognition that social, economic, environmental and ethical factors directly affect business strategy."
As you cut through the clutter of this "new" field, it is important to recognize that there is strong evidence that ESG has always been part of the credit union ethos. As Edward Filene said in his 1924 book "The Way Out," "I think I can truly say that I have always dealt with matters of social justice, cooperation and general welfare, not on the basis of philanthropy or paternalism, but as essential factors in the development of successful business." The trick is how to effectively ESG with so many firms touting their latest "ground-breaking" DEI initiatives, glossy social impact reports and over-sized check ceremonies with local community organizations.
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Some industries are being told how to ESG by various regulatory or activist stockholder groups so their path is becoming clearer, with a bit of kicking and screaming along the way. At the same time, the requisite cottage industry of professional certifications, template driven consultants and PR-enabled pronouncements by CEOs in casual business gear signaling "we care" are popping up everywhere. This has led companies to project a performative, undifferentiated stance on issues that intersect business and society. So what about industries like credit unions that have always had an ESG-like operating model but not much external pressure (not yet, at least) to show they care in an authentic and impactful manner?
The conversation starts with a credit union's long-term goals in mind. If the credit union is focused on financial performance and operational efficiency, their ESG approach will be different from a credit union focused on financial well-being and community development. Additionally, credit unions will need coaching on what constitutes proactive and future-focused ESG activities, as the industry tends to be at the "just starting to think about ESG" end of the continuum. With an understanding of these items, a credit union will need to project out into the future by assessing which ESG elements are important to the success of the business and stakeholders.
This exercise, commonly referred to as a materiality assessment, dovetails nicely with business leaders' (especially those with an MBA!) passionate desire to fit complex topics into a 2×2 matrix.
To construct the details of this assessment, a credit union will need to conduct a series of conversations and surveys with a diverse cross section of internal and external stakeholders. The results of these activities will yield a simple, yet effective map that represents the credit union's ESG aspirations (see the Sample ESG Materiality Matrix above). It is important to note that while most issues that land in this matrix are important, some are more important than others. For example, if a topic like animal welfare falls in the upper left quadrant of "high importance to members and low importance to credit union success," it is probably not a great candidate for credit union investment. This does not mean that animal welfare isn't a critical topic, it is simply not at topic this credit union, with limited resources, should try to impact.
Next, a credit union will want to assess their current capabilities to determine the "ease" of implementation of these ESG aspirations. To accomplish this, the credit union will have a series of conversations with internal stakeholders such as representatives from senior management, board members and functional managers/staff impacted by future ESG activities. Here you may find yourself with an activity like climate change mitigation in the upper right quadrant of highly important to members and credit union success, but if your organization lacks the capability and credibility to fulfill this activity, you'll need to have deep discussions on the trade-offs of either building that capacity or saying, "This is an important topic, but with our limited resources we can't effectively impact it." It is important to note that you are not aiming for the easy win, but you will want to craft a strategy that has a realistic view of success.
Finally, the credit union will be in a position to integrate its ESG activities into the larger credit union strategy with the associated timelines, goals and objectives. This is the most difficult part of the journey as ESG topics have the potential to push against established practices and activities. A key outcome of this work should be an exercise in strategic prioritization.
Source: Hofheimer Strategy Advisors, 2022 As the old strategy sage Michael Porter from Harvard Business School famously said, "The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do." The outcome of this work for credit unions should be a narrowly focused set of ESG activities centered on your organization's overall strategy and your member needs. It sounds obvious, but past research from the Harvard Business Review and recent work by Filene Research Institute found credit union ESG efforts are "… largely diffuse and unfocused …" However, for the dedicated credit union, integration of ESG activities into the organization's strategy will yield a "successful business," as good old Ed Filene imagined it would way back in the 1920s.
George Hofheimer George Hofheimer is the Founder of Hofheimer Strategy Advisors in Madison, Wis.
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