ESGS, CSRS, SDGS and their Impact on the Built Environment

There are so many ways we structure our mission, targets, and goals toward a more sustainable and resilient future. But one of the most important things right now is taking action that moves our organizations and personal lives toward improvements that deliver triple bottom-line results for all stakeholders.

ESGs (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scores and rankings are becoming an important factor in how investors are evaluating their portfolios and opportunities in the marketplace. In a data-driven world, transparency is driving decision making both within the financial markets, but also with consumers. Sustainable investing is being driven by factors such as regulation, competition and consumer mindset that is placing a higher value on companies aligned with their values.

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) reports provide a good overview of an organization’s mission, actions, and achievements toward sustainability. They typically are published yearly and cover a wide range of impacts to provide the reader with an understanding of what is important to the company. One of our clients, Herman Miller calls their report, “Better World Report” and it provides an overview of all their work and progress toward their mission and goals and a company. Ecomedes is proud to be included in this year's report.

SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for the year 2030. Within the 17 goals, several topic areas focus on energy, infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production and climate action.

All three of these systems provide frameworks to help organizations focus on issues that matter. Within the context of the built environment, we have to dramatically reduce our impacts on the planet as a whole. In 2018, Bill Gates wrote a blog titled: Climate change and the 75% problem, he states that “The world’s building stock will double in area by 2060. That’s like adding another New York City every month for 40 years” This is an enormous amount of new development in addition to the operational impacts of the existing building stocks around the world.

• What tools will these project teams use when analyzing design and construction options?

• Where will all the products and materials come from?

• What performance standards will be used for the design and construction of these buildings?

• What product ecolabels and certifications will be utilized to analyze the best in class solutions?

We all have an important role to play in making these buildings as sustainable and resilient as possible. Our team at Ecomedes and our tribe of over 15,000 monthly users are excited for the opportunity to provide better products that deliver better performance and lower operating costs and lessen the impact on people and the planet.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this topic further, feel free to send me an email paul@ecomedes.com or connect with me via Linkedin linkedin.com/in/paulshahriari

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