In 2015, leaders from around the world gathered at the United Nations headquarters in New York City and set forth a series of sustainable project goals aimed at eradicating poverty, improving health and education, spurring economic growth, and tackling climate change.
Seventeen interconnected goals for sustainable development were adopted by all UN member states as the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This UN declaration came at a point in history where access to information, wealth, and resources was high for many, but much lower for so many more. At the same time, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) has gained traction in the business world from private equity to manufacturing and natural resources. Stakeholders and investors are increasingly expecting firms to take action and responsibility in the realm of ESG.
Delivering Tomorrow’s Results Today
At its core the UN’s Agenda for Sustainable Development is closely aligned with what Proudfoot values most: creating transformational change through optimization without ever losing sight of the human element. We pride ourselves on delivering tomorrow’s results today through people.
The UN stated in its declaration that “eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. We are committed to achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic, social and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner.”
The spirit of this statement is alive in the work Proudfoot does to help clients achieve their own ESG goals. Before the United Nations adopted the sustainable development goals, Proudfoot had been working with organizations all over the world to deliver sustainable development and social responsibility through world-class transformation programs.
Creating Transformational Change
Having worked in more than 30,000 engagements and with millions of leaders at every level, Proudfoot has supported investors, companies and the communities in which they operate to improve economies, develop capabilities of people and create transformations that uphold corporate responsibility.
Through tens of thousands of transformation programs with clients worldwide, Proudfoot has helped to tackle 13 of the 17 UN sustainable project development goals.
To upskill the communities in which Proudfoot works, we have extensive training and coaching programs designed to ensure lasting growth and development. All of our engagements have a People Solutions™ component to ensure leaders and their teams are coached and capabilities are built. Our approach never loses sight of the human element as we design innovative training programs, inclusive of gamification techniques, in-classroom training and on-the-floor coaching, delivering successful and long-lasting change programs.
The following are a few examples of how we have worked with clients, supporting ESG and social responsibility.
- 1+ million leaders coached across Mongolia, Indonesia, Peru, Columbia, USA, Canada, Brazil, and many more
- In Kazakhstan, we implemented a proactive management culture to quickly identify and take action on elements that deteriorated our client’s performance.
- In Iceland, we developed training programs for an electronics manufacturer to improve employee onboarding and ensure continued skills development at supervisor and operator levels.
- Standardized safety processes and tools across six oilfield services sites, allowing our client, the HSE Group, to improve its safety indicators.
- Achieved a 40% reduction in waste and improved control of material consumption for a Brazilian food and catering distribution organization.
Sustainable Projects: ESG and Beyond
Following the tremendous toll of the COVID-19 pandemic, research has shown that the most resilient companies are those that have invested in ESG. Traditionally investments in ESG was seen mostly in energy driven companies. The ESG focus is no longer on these traditional energy companies, it is now being redirected to all organizations where other aspects of ESG – material sustainability, employee satisfaction, customer relations, etc. – have had significant influence on the ability for these companies to not only survive, but in some cases, thrive, throughout the pandemic economy.
According to the energy council, the first real stress test of ESG funds came with the emergence of Coronavirus. Companies like BlackRock have recently proclaimed that 94% of sustainable strategies in 2020 had outperformed their conventional counterparts while Morning Star states that 44% of ESG funds appear in the top performing quartile in the first half of 2020. The clear result of this very first stress-test of sustainable goals has been passed with flying colors and has shown to create buoyancy and resiliency for companies that have invested in ESG prior to and during unprecedented times.
As the business world rebuilds, businesses will be looking for ways to future-proof operations and ESG will be at the forefront of investment. In times of uncertainty, you need guaranteed results, so when you need a strategic partner for Business Value Creation while improving your ESG metrics, Proudfoot has the history, expertise, and track record to help you reach your goals.
Download the Sustainable Projects guide to see how Proudfoot can help tackle a wide range of sustainable project development goals that align with environmental, social, and governance best practices. This guide covers all 17 UN sustainable development goals and shows how Proudfoot is making a huge impact for clients on these important initiatives.
