Bundling tasks in a dedicated service unit frees up resources elsewhere in the company, enabling a stronger focus on core competences and strategic goals.
GBS organizations offer three key benefits in the area of ESG:
- Bundle resources and increase efficiency: As an internal center of excellence (CoE), GBS specializes in optimizing business processes and creating synergies between divisions. In doing so, it supports sustainability initiatives efficiently and centrally, and ensures a standardized approach across all business units. It is important to note that the individual corporate culture and established structures of a company will dictate how tasks are allocated between GBS, central business functions (e.g., the sustainability function) and decentralized units (e.g., national subsidiaries). Depending on these factors, GBS can be integrated to a greater or lesser extent.
- Access expertise in data analysis and reporting: Companies face significant challenges in collecting, analyzing and reporting on comprehensive ESG data. The symbiosis of sustainability and digitalization unlocks potential that extends across all aspects of business operations. The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), which form the basis of the CSRD (see above), clearly define this symbiosis. With experience in standardization and as process owners of various (end-to-end) business processes, GBS often already adopts advanced approaches in the areas of data sourcing, data governance and data libraries. Combined with sophisticated analysis tools and expertise in data processing for defined reports (e.g., external CSRD and EU taxonomy reporting, but also internal ESG impact measurement), GBS organizations can help make the topic of sustainability tangible – and therefore controllable – for companies. As a central function for relevant data points, GBS organizations can create significant added value for all business areas, particularly in controlling and reporting. This frees up capacity within the central functions to focus more on strategic tasks. As a result, GBS can make a valuable contribution to measuring and communicating the company’s ESG performance.
- Integrate ESG operationally into corporate strategy: GBS enjoys a comprehensive overview of a company's various business areas. As mentioned in point 2, it can provide data-driven insights into many business processes – an excellent starting point for a sustainable business transformation that is embedded within the corporate sustainability strategy and tracked through sustainability targets. Internally, GBS can identify and share proven environmental, social or ethical initiatives from different areas of the company in order to achieve synergies. Externally, it can compare the company’s own sustainability performance with industry standards and best practices to assess implementation progress. This enables the company to respond efficiently to sustainability needs in the short to medium term and to accelerate its transformation to a sustainable business model.
To integrate ESG issues across the entire company with the help of GBS – and continue to demonstrate the internal added value of Global Business Services – clear goals, responsibilities, expertise, structures and understanding are essential. The following five steps can be a helpful guide:
Summary
Sustainable business as an overarching trend will increasingly be reflected in the strategic agenda of companies and across all areas of corporate activity in the coming years. Global Business Services can help shape and accelerate the necessary transformation processes more efficiently. This includes embracing its role as a digital champion to establish sustainability as a central aspect of the business model.
