Are US companies planning to spend more on ESG in coming years?

This week we want to flag a recent KPMG US survey of 550 board members, executives, and managers of private and public companies in the US on where they plan to spend ESG money in the future. This survey sheds light on how corporates are adjusting to a world where they have seen the benefits of sustainability, they have some regulatory pressure to report ESG topics in certain regions, but there is a lot of noise in the market on whether companies should really spend on this or not (being the US the place where ESG is being criticized the most).

We recommend a full read (here), but are the 5 findings we found the most interesting:

• 90% of companies will increase their ESG investment in the next 3 years
• Top areas of future investment are: dedicated ESG personnel (43%), ESG-specific software (40%), and employee training and education (38%)
• Almost half of the respondents (47%) still use spreadsheets to manage their ESG data
• 83% of companies believe that they are ahead of peers on ESG reporting
• The most popular challenge that according to respondents impedes cross functional collaboration on sustainability matters is insufficient resources or capacity to collaborate effectively

Despite negative news flow, companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of ESG strategies as integral components of their long-term success. Beyond the traditional focus on financial performance, ESG considerations are now seen as crucial drivers of value creation and risk mitigation.

We believe that if 90% of companies plan to spend more on ESG in the US, it is likely that in other countries this is happening even more broadly (since there is less pushback). What do you expect from your market over the next five years?

I hope you found this interesting. As usual, if there is anything we can help you with, or if there is an ESG topic you would like to know more about, please let us know.

Best,

Marimar

CEO, Miranda ESG