Lane Jost, SVP, ESG advisory at Edelman Smithfield, participated in a video interview in conjunction with Nareit’s REITworks: 2022 Conference in La Quinta, California, on Sept. 12-13.
Jost noted that as ESG becomes more and more mainstream, companies that are mature with ESG reporting don’t necessarily have a sophisticated approach to integrating ESG factors across the business.
“We’re really helping them integrate E, S, and G from a functional standpoint,” he said.
Jost said that Edelman Smithfield partners with its clients to help them tell their overall ESG story and enhance their strategy by first working with them on prioritization: “[Identify] what are the most priority material topics for your business and for your industry, and then you can tell your story based on those topics,” he added.
Jost said that ESG does not need to be “all things to all audiences to all stakeholders,” and that instead, it should be seen as an opportunity that is uniquely defined for the specific organization, industry, and geography.
“When you think about being a thought leader, you need to think about using ESG to differentiate your brand—as a human being, but also as the business and how those two are connected,” Jost said.