How do companies measure the good efforts they put forth for the environment, society, and their stakeholders?
In this What That Means video, Camille talks with Madison West, head of the Global Corporate Responsibility Office at Intel. They get into the interplay between ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and CSR (corporate social responsibility), how to structure ESG and CSR practices, and Intel’s ESG program RISE.
What Are ESG and CSR?
ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and CSR (corporate social responsibility) are two different yet complementary approaches to measuring a company’s success. Madison notes how ESG focuses on the quantitative aspects of maximizing shareholder value and enacting the greater good for all of a company’s stakeholders, while CSR takes a qualitative focus on social factors that may be more difficult to measure. Yet, both are crucial to the continued growth of any company. These approaches work together to help companies maximize their social, sustainability, and financial growth.
ESG has been around for decades as the concept that companies should unite their operational and financial measures for the greater good, although the name for it is more recent. There aren’t any unified standards for ESG initiatives, largely because it’s up to each company and industry to determine which ESG factors matter most to their line of business and their stakeholders. Tech companies in particular have the potential to tackle many of the world’s challenges with technology-enabled ESG, but they will need to focus on the governance aspect of ESG more as new technologies like AI continue to develop.
How to Structure ESG and CSR Practices
Again, Madison highlights how each company must figure out which factors are the most important to the business and its stakeholders. This is the first step in establishing ESG and CSR strategies. To determine those key factors, companies can do a comprehensive ESG materiality assessment. The assessment should include internal and external stakeholders, as well as a consideration of which external factors can most impact the company over time. When setting ESG goals, Madison notes that setting ambitious goals is a good thing. If the goals are all accomplished within the set timeline, then it’s likely they weren’t challenging enough. To stay on track and follow progress toward those goals, Madison outlines the six principles of vision, governance, monitoring, collaboration, agility, and transparency.
A Look at ESG and CSR at Intel with RISE
Finally, Madison and Camille discuss Intel’s own ESG approach through the RISE initiative, which stands for responsible, inclusive, sustainable, and enabled. Intel has long embraced ESG and CSR, but this specific approach began in 2020. Camille asks Madison to share how Intel is specifically addressing ESG and CSR through RISE. She provides metrics on how Intel is meeting its goals through efforts like wellness programs, diversity, carbon emissions, and employee volunteer hours. Madison also adds that while there are strategic roadmaps to meeting these goals, Intel also embraces agility to make changes to approaches as needed in real-time. Both annual and quarterly reports for varying stakeholders keep Intel accountable and transparent with its ESG and CSR progress.
Read Intel’s annual 2022-23 Corporate Responsibility report here, or customize the information you would like to read and download from the report with the CSR report builder here.
Madison West, Head of the Global Corporate Responsibility Office at Intel
With over ten years of proficiency in the realms of ESG, CSR, and investor relations, Madison West has established herself as an industry leader. Prior to her tenure at Intel, she held a number of senior leadership roles in CSR and ESG at Maximus. Since 2022, she has directed the Global Corporate Responsibility Office (CRO) at Intel. Madison holds two MBAs from the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management and Queen’s University, respectively. She also completed her undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, earning BAs in both International Relations and Writing Seminars.
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#CSR #ESG #environmentalsocialgovernance
The views and opinions expressed are those of the guests and author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Intel Corporation.
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