Manufacturers accelerate ESG strategies as customer and supplier requirements increase

12 February, 2024

The report found that the most prominent forms of ESG conditions set by manufacturers relate to human capital – the Governance in the ESG framework – with more than half having stipulations on health & safety (53%), four in ten (41%) on human rights, a third (34%) on labour rights, and more than a quarter (27%) on diversity and inclusion.

However, carbon emissions and nature (for example biodiversity or wildlife) are increasingly important, scoring 24% and 12% respectively. UK manufacturers said they expect carbon and biodiversity/nature are the most likely requirements to increase in prevalence in their supply chain conditions.

Almost two in five UK manufacturers (38%) publicly report their ESG performance which is a modest increase compared to 36% in 2021. However, almost a third (32%) have their reporting externally audited, a decrease from 37% in 2021, with the report suggesting cost being a driver for this, pointing to Covid-19 recovery, inflation, energy security, and political instability as events of note.

1 The survey of 150 companies was carried out between 13 September and 4 October.

2 UK Sustainability Disclosure Standards - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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