Social

Social is about how we can make people's lives better and contribute to the overall wellbeing of the communities we operate in. It concerns how we can address social and economic inequality, empower our workforce and communities, and create long-term socio-economic prosperity and wellbeing.  

Under the framework of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), public and private sector organisations have come to realise the importance of social sustainability for their workforce, customers, stakeholders as well as the wider communities in which they operate. Pressure is growing on organisations to demonstrate a net positive contribution to society. Social risks and opportunities have direct impacts on business and financial performance as well as on reputation and ‘social license to operate’. 

Social factors increasingly influence business strategy, public policy and the availability of capital and investment. Understanding and measuring the socio-economic impacts of business and policy decisions is critical to assist the development of effective strategy, policy and regulation; to identify potential risks and challenges; to attract and retain talent; and to maximise positive outcomes.  Strategies for enhancing social sustainability or social value can provide a competitive edge and are increasingly mandated in some sectors, for example in public sector procurement exercises.  

ESG social value and impact assessments are gaining in importance in company / government decision making processes as regulatory and reporting requirements increase and in response to greater demands from citizens and consumers. Companies and organisations in Hong Kong SAR and Greater China are also showing interest in adopting and integrating social impact measurement approaches into their governance frameworks, alongside financial and environmental metrics. 

KPMG provides a tailored approach to public and private sector organisations to help them integrate social sustainability practices into their strategy and operations. 

KPMG’s ESG professionals offer the following ESG Social services:

• Developing sustainability strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an organizing framework
• Advising on industry, city and regional development through a social sustainability lens
• Conducting socio-economic impact assessments, including qualitative and quantitative analyses
• Designing social impact performance metrics and frameworks
• Developing and implementing strategies to foster diversity, equity and inclusion within the workforce
• Supporting organisations in understanding and complying with labour laws and regulations and assisting in developing policies and procedures to ensure fair treatment of the workforce throughout the supply chain

Our services can help clients:

• Improve decision-making: When it comes to selecting which projects and activities to progress, ESG social impact assessment helps leaders to look further than financial return-on-investment and take a balanced and holistic approach to decision-making. By providing data-driven insight into impacts on people and the environment, we help business leaders factor these considerations into investment decisions, alongside conventional financial data. This can help companies reduce risks and enhance drivers of growth.
• Enhance reporting and strengthen relationships: We can help provide a far richer view of an organisation’s contribution to society than conventional financial or sustainability reporting alone. Transparency around social impacts can help to strengthen relationships with critical stakeholders like investors, governments, citizens, customers and NGOs. It may also help to improve performance in corporate sustainability ratings.
• Increase innovation and competitive advantage: We can help innovators measure the impacts of products and services on people and the environment. Having a clear sustainability strategy supported by social value measurement can help organisations maximise the positive impacts of their products and services, thereby creating a point-of-difference in the marketplace and potential competitive advantage.
• Promote continuous performance improvement: Effective socio-economic assessment enables organisations to measure the actual outcomes of their projects or policies against the predicted impact. Decision-makers can assess the effectiveness of their action, learn from experience and make adjustments for the future.

A prominent transport operator in Hong Kong was looking to establish organisational ESG targets that align with their ESG strategy and to assist in propagating an ESG centric culture. Our team brought together KPMG local and global ESG Social capabilities. Together, we helped the Client tailor and develop their ESG investment framework, conducted a socio-economic impact assessment and provided ESG strategy implementation support.

Our services have enabled the Client to improve its ESG positioning and adopt a structured approach through set performance metrics to track their socio-economic impacts. The Client is now well-versed to drive performance improvement through sustainable business operations that values social impact.