8NOVEMBER 2025CFO TECH OUTLOOKIN MY OPINIONBy Shaun Taylor, CFO, Americas, Standard Chartered BankSUSTAINABILITY THROUGH BUSINESS: A NEW WAY FORWARDSustainability has rapidly become a priority for companies and their investors over recent years, as the negative effects of issues such as climate change and extreme social inequalities become ever more evident. As companies get involved, customers and suppliers, and the banks and investors who support them, need the confidence that their environmental, social and governance (ESG) claims are reliable, meaningful and comparable. Only then will sustainable investment and business practices become `business as usual' and have a real impact on averting environmental and social crisis.Making ESG Decision-making More RobustWhile some investors and businesses may see ESG primarily as a set of tickboxes for regulatory and reputational purposes, most are keen to target their actions and investments in areas that will have a real impact. With more and more sustainable initiatives and investment opportunities jostling for attention, this has become increasingly difficult to achieve in practice. A variety of complementary initiatives are however emerging to overcome this. Firstly, ESG-related metrics are becoming more sophisticated to help measure ESG green and sustainable credentials and monitor impact. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set up by the UN identified specific indicators that can be used to measure progress.Secondly, governments and regulators globally are being proactive in setting the rules and standards that will make government sustainability ambitions achievable. For example, in the UK, as part of its Green Strategy, the UK became the first G20 country to mandate the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures Shaun TaylorWe are now entering an era where sustainability talk is more than just buzzwords.
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