Introduction

To be a good global citizen is to have a balanced perspective.

I've found that identifying how different things interrelate helps me understand how people's actions can reduce the pain of recent events, from pandemics and climate degradation to financial inequity and war. Focusing on interconnectivity helps me to see beyond the devastation. It helps me dare to see glimmers of hope and possibility based on how humans can compassionately respond to these events.

Of course, those glimmers of hope don't negate the realities, tragedies, and impacts that persist.

The potential for a global health crisis loomed for decades and yet somehow still felt like a surprise. COVID-19 directly affected everyone in a manner that many of us had not experienced in our lifetimes. People lived through the illness and death of loved ones, severe business disruption, shutdowns, lockdowns, and of course a lingering sense of unease during travel and in social gatherings. The ways we interact with each other, as well as how we perceive how our health choices affect those around us, are forever altered.

Personal health choices continued to be the subject of scrutiny as the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in June 2022. Although some corporations swiftly committed to covering costs for employees who need to travel out of state for reproductive healthcare, many Americans still feel vulnerable, angry, and violated at decisions surrounding our health and privacy.

Then there are tragedies resulting from invasions and natural disasters and the disastrous human conditions that result. Heart-wrenching images of men, women, and children fleeing for their lives or confined en masse to small sanctuaries of relative safety like subways or bunkers are all too common. Real-time commentary on social media puts horrific images and stories of war and disaster center stage.

Inevitably these events affect both the economy as a whole and individual financial circumstances. While market watchers marveled at how Wall Street rebounded from the pandemic crash, many of us-and our friends and family-were hit hard by layoffs, downsizings, or our own small businesses having to shut down. Supply-chain resources were stretched or nonexistent. The ranks of the unemployed swelled.

Even before the world could recover from the affects of the pandemic, Russia's war in the Ukraine caused a worldwide impact. Unfathomable brutality and carnage were nightmares fully manifest on our mobile phone screens. Rising oil prices and increasing food costs provided ongoing reminders of turmoil abroad-contributing to inflation fears, humanitarian emergencies, and food scarcity.

Those of us in the corporate world can no longer afford to ignore the volatility of the wider world. Just as other members of society, corporate leaders have an obligation to help fix what is broken. Environmental health, regional stability, social justice and ethical corporations are intricately tied to not just the performance of the economy and the market but the social fabric of communities themselves. Sustainability, social, and governance concerns intersect with both the private and public sectors. Climate-related devastation is already affecting vulnerable populations-it will not be long before we all are feeling the effects.

As a woman who focuses on creating and maintaining strong business partnerships, my view of these events focuses sharply on the interrelatedness between global phenomena and individuals. I often find myself asking, How can businesses, governments, and other organizations play a role in mitigating negative impacts? This is the lens through which I view the world-by focusing professionally on doing business in a way that strengthens communities and economically empowers employees, partners, and other stakeholders, I can attempt to find optimism and learning within these events, so as to work toward preventative measures and amplify resilience. During these times of political turmoil and instability, employees in different industries and regions began mobilizing to raise funds and deliver supplies to support people in need. This demonstrates that in times of social crises, humans react quickly to help their fellow humans.

Since the pandemic hit, many corporate managers have updated their workplace safety plans to ensure contractors, vendors, and employees are equipped with knowledge about protocols to keep each other safe-both today and as a precautionary measure for future health crises. Internal policy-setting and implementation shows that the heart of policy management and governance is about people-centered, ethical leadership.

The pandemic forced us to reckon with the ways low-income and underserved communities and demographics-such as those with underlying health conditions or who are located near toxin-producing industries and high traffic-are strongly affected by national and global crises. As a result, we saw the government injecting money into environmental and social justice initiatives. There has also been a corresponding drive for corporations to do their part to reduce bias and racial injustice within their companies.

As a result of broader conversations about environmental degradation, corporations have begun to commit to climate action plans with targeted goals for recycling and/or reducing dependence on non-renewable natural resources, and specific timelines to meet those goals. Progressive business leaders are leveraging their resources to help solve for some of the biggest environmental and social issues of our era.

As economic volatility took hold of global markets, many of us were empowered to build our own businesses or start new careers. The "great resignation" forced employers to reach out to potential workers, offer higher levels of training and compensation, and take their flexibility needs into consideration to attract and retain talent. The silver lining for entrepreneurs as well as workers was a new sense that they can chart their own futures.

Corporate leaders who remain uneducated about the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations will not be leading for long. They not only risk losing customers, but they also risk losing the interest of investors, both institutional and retail. Here are a few reasons why:

• Leaders who are unaware of social and environmental policies risk fines, reputational damage, and loss of customers and investors.
• Businesses that aren't prepared to compete for employees and investors in this new Green Economy-those that can't adjust their operations toward climate and clean energy awareness-may be incapable of attracting the best talent, customers, and investment dollars.
• ESG investments are set to hit $53 billion by 20251 and will likely account for one-third of all global assets under management by that time. Investors must move in the direction of ESG-and ensure the companies they invest in do, too-if they expect to support portfolio growth.
• Companies are encountering more investors who use proxy voting to hold boards accountable for lack of progress on ESG. These investors have the power to restructure company governance, and vote in new board members who can help these companies pivot toward ESG.

The purpose of this book is to investigate how companies are advancing the ESG agenda, to discuss the role that investors, governments, and NGOs can play in these efforts, and to develop an understanding about how this ESG focus can benefit society, especially those who have been most acutely affected by these negative impacts.

Corporate commitment to solving social and environmental problems through ESG policies and actions requires that the C-suite in particular reckon with their company's own environment, climate, and societal footprint. Just as attaching a unit of value is how a company understands whether a new strategy or product is impacting their goal or target, attaching a unit of value to business efforts on climate, environmental, and societal impact supports a company in identifying if they are meeting their goals toward ESG.

Climate and environmental issues, social issues, and business governance may seem like separate concerns, but they are actually not; they need to be tackled in tandem. Businesses, investors, and other organizations have enormous resources, especially when they partner together. By thinking through ESG considerations, we can approach sustainable business planning in the same methodical way we approach product and revenue planning: hand-in-hand. We've seen that a best practice for sustainable business is not to silo these concerns off in a separate ESG department, but rather to include ESG concerns in all business operations, product planning, and overall risk and opportunity evaluations.

Business leaders are accustomed to managing several issues at once, such as mitigating risk while monitoring costs and simultaneously driving revenue. But for some reason, some corporate participants feel they don't have the resources and/or knowledge to improve their enterprises' environmental and social standings simultaneously. But you can. It's all about shifting how you see things. Changing the lens of how you view the world means changing your mindset; learn to see not just problems, but also see solutions-particularly how you can create solutions from your unique perspective as a business leader. In practice, this means considering climate, innovation, or worker health benefits of a business proposal...