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Instinctif Partners launches free digital tool to assess ESG status

Food and drink companies beat CO2 reduction targets five years early

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Instinctif Partners has announced the launch of ESGOptic, a unique and powerful digital tool that allows businesses to instantly measure how they are performing in relation to the ESG requirements expected from all key stakeholders, including regulators, investors and customers.

ESGOptic is the latest member in Instinctif’s family of free online diagnostic tools which, as a self-assessment tool, is designed to provide guidance for companies on how they are integrating ESG matters into company decision-making, to maximise performance. By providing this level of insight into operations, strategy and financials, ESGOptic allows companies to recognise longer-term opportunities for growth, faster and more efficiently than using financial data alone.

Commenting on the announcement, Ed Amory, chief executive of Instinctif Partners, said: “Every business leader now knows that they operate in a world in which they must demonstrate societal purpose beyond profit, that the days of navigating their companies on financial metrics alone are at an end. They are under increasing pressure from consumers, regulators, employees, and investors to demonstrate their performance against wider ESG metrics, but it can be hard to know where to start.

“Many businesses are already making huge societal contributions but are unaware of how to demonstrate this to external stakeholders. Others face more complex challenges but need to decide where to start their journey to a more sustainable, purposeful future. That’s why we have developed this free service for self-assessment, to help all businesses, whether or not they are currently working with us, undertake a basic benchmarking exercise. We hope it will be helpful, and our team of experts are ready to help businesses and their leaders to act on the results.”

Working alongside some of the world’s largest brands, Instinctif Partners used its proprietary methodology to equip companies with a platform for quantitative and qualitative assessment of their internal ESG practices. Similar to existing Optic tools – CrisisCommsOpticCrisisOptic and RecallOptic – ESGOptic uses a simple, secure online questionnaire system to evaluate the integration of ESG quickly and effectively across six core areas:

  1. Sustainability and business objectives
  2. Leadership and accountability
  3. Risk and opportunities management
  4. Stakeholder engagement and collaboration
  5. Sustainability governance and management
  6. Reporting, transparency and communication of ESG

Victoria Cross, managing partner and Head of Instinctif’s Reinventing Responsibility service, added: “The last year has brought to the surface many ESG challenges, most of which were dormant before the pandemic. While reacting to a crisis does present an opportunity to jumpstart discussions of ESG issues internally, a crisis response, no matter how efficient it is, cannot address the root of the problem.  As the pressure to demonstrate ESG integration increases, companies need to make use of the tools available to them to ensure an honest appraisal of the internal ESG processes, systems and controls. ESGOptic aims to do just that.”

ESGOptic can be used as a stand-alone diagnostic tool or as part of an in-depth assessment of an organisation’s readiness incorporating qualitative methods.

To find out more or to register for ESGOptic, visit: optic.instinctif.com/registration.