ESG has become a top business priority in recent years, but fully understanding it in today’s volatile world is a complicated task. The second season of the “On Aon Insights” podcast series explores the world of climate and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) issues. In this episode, host and Aon’s chief marketing officer, Reinsurance Solutions, Alexandra Lewis, is joined by Aon’s head of ESG and Human Sustainability, Laura Wanlass, for a discussion on how to better understand the role of ESG in company decision-making.

• [1:20] The complicated task of defining ESG
• [2:12] The three elements that make up ESG
• [3:14] Maintaining a focus on ESG in a volatile market
• [4:38] Responding to political pushback and stakeholder expectations

Additional Resources:

Aon’s website

Episode 49: On Aon's ESG Impact with Leslie Follmer

ESG Data: How Businesses Can Use Data to Gain an Edge

Tweetables:

• “Oftentimes instead of saying, ‘What is environmental and social governance and what does it mean to the company?’ it's more like, what's material to your company and to your stakeholders?” — Laura Wanlass
• “You have to really sit back and look at who you are as a company, what industries or markets do you operate within to set your strategy and to know what you want to do on the risk side and the opportunity side of ESG.” — Laura Wanlass
• “But on the governance side, I would say, especially if you're public, there's some pretty universal things that are expected in terms of board governance.” — Laura Wanlass
• “Employees really care [about ESG], and that's not going to go away.” — Laura Wanlass