Environmental, social and governance (ESG)

Using an ESG framework to address the challenges of an evolving world

The world is facing an array of environmental and social challenges owing to dramatic changes that are taking place in the environment and human society. Solving these challenges depends on everyone getting involved: governments, businesses, NGOs and all of us who call planet Earth home. Key challenges to be addressed include the following.

Environmental challenges 

• Climate change and global warming with fossil fuels as the main cause 
• Overuse of natural resources 
• Waste (such as plastics) in the oceans and on land  
• ​Deforestation and forest fires

Social challenges 

• Human rights abuses and discrimination (based on, for example, gender, sexuality, race, and creed)  
• Modern slavery  
• Gender pay gap in many business sectors 
• Increase in the ageing population, which is putting pressure on younger workers to address the shortfall of labour  
• Greater reliance on technology (driven in part by the shift to hybrid and remote working) as people look for a better work/life balance, and businesses look to reduce the overheads of running offices and workspaces 

Governance challenges 

• Expectation on businesses to act in a sustainable and responsible way 
• Compliance with European and national laws  
• Need for ethical, trustworthy business practices and robust governance processes 
• Consideration for ethics and sustainability in the supply chain 
• A balanced corporate strategy 

ESG initiatives at Konica Minolta 

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 

• End extreme poverty 
• Fight inequality and injustice 
• Protect our planet 
• Encourage growth and increased prosperity

UN Global Compact 

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