Contracts, Commercial & ESG

Professionals in contract and commercial management care about the ESG principles, with 80% indicating they care ‘a lot’ or ‘a great deal’ about the environment. Concern about social issues is not far behind at 75% and governance comes in with 73%.

That is a snapshot from a short survey conducted by World Commerce & Contracting earlier this month. And while most believe that their organization is equally sincere in its efforts, more than a third are not convinced, with as many as 37% questioning the commitment to environmental issues, with social and governance at 33% and 32% respectively.

Those who responded represent approximately 300 different organizations. It is notable (though perhaps unsurprising) that buy-side engagement is considerably greater than sell-side, with many sell-side participants unsure about how they can contribute or waiting to be asked. Overall, some 53% say they are already engaged in some form of workplace initiative related to ESG and 43% indicating involvement outside work.

The level of personal engagement must lead to some questions over how representative these responses really are. Inevitably, the survey probably had greater appeal to those who care about ESG. However, a significant number indicated their readiness to engage in WorldCC’s ESG working group, contributing to the development of standards and training for CCM practitioners worldwide.