Foreword

This issue of the Brunswick Social Value Review asks, “What does leadership look like on the ‘S’ in ESG?” We hear from Mark Carney, former Governor of the Bank of England, about his book Value(s): Building a Better World for All. He talks to Brunswick CEO Neal Wolin about how social values and market values can be aligned. We meet Indra Nooyi in conversation with Ajay Banga—former CEOs of PepsiCo and Mastercard respectively—and hear them reflecting on the challenges of aligning social impact and business impact. 

At the forefront of the “S” are issues related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. They are where companies can have a direct impact on entrenched inequalities through the way they engage with their own workforce and value chain. In this issue, we talk to a number of DEI leaders about the challenges and opportunities of getting the data right. To create equity, says Deloitte’s Emma Codd, don’t be afraid to “rip up that rule book.” Joan Burke of DocuSign, whose workforce has doubled in size during the pandemic, talks about supporting DEI amid fast growth. Brunswick’s DEI experts share their thoughts on the growing pressure for companies to publish Ethnicity Pay Gap data. We meet Phyll Opoku-Gyimah—otherwise known as Lady Phyll—a leading campaigner for LGBTQI+ equality. 

Another “S” issue is modern slavery—there are currently more people in slavery than at any other time in history, and this is a growing concern for companies with long, complex global supply chains. Meanwhile, mental health in the workplace has been a growing concern impacted by the pandemic. We speak to leading voices about what business can do to drive forward solutions.  

Many of the world’s most challenging issues don’t fit neatly into an “E,” “S” or “G” box. Climate change and biodiversity loss may be primarily environmental issues, but it is becoming increasingly clear that many of the impacts and many of the solutions are in the social space. We speak to Mxolisi Mgojo, CEO of the South African mining company Exxaro, about the challenges of creating a “just transition,” and we hear from Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, on the “S” in Biodiversity. The social dimension is present now in all the major issues associated with environment.

We launched the Brunswick Social Value Review to chronicle the growing pressure on companies to demonstrate they are part of the solution to the world’s great challenges, and to show what leadership looks like in this space. There’s no doubt that ESG has helped to push societal issues up the agenda of investors and business leaders. As we see in this issue, real leadership is more than treating ESG as a box-checking exercise. It means moving beyond a compliance mindset, asking not just, “How do we increase our ESG scores?” but “How can we make an impact on these issues in the world?”

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Lucy Parker & Jon Miller are Partners based in London leading the firm’s Social Value offer.

Photograph: Lappes/Getty Images