SA-based lawyer wants proper ESG framework in Zim

SOUTH AFRICA-BASED lawyer and researcher Edwell Maposa says lack of a proper framework has undermined the implementation of the environment, social and governance (ESG) concept in Zimbabwe.

This, according to Maposa, has resulted in high costs for local sustainability development.

Speaking during the annual two-day Sustainability Summit in Harare last week, Maposa noted that most companies and unlisted firms were being left out of sustainability implementation.

“One of the challenges in implementing ESG in Zimbabwe is standardisation. So, as of today, we believe that sustainability needs standardisation and I believe accountants think differently because they are gradually trying to focus on standardisation,” Maposa said.

“Now, the sad thing is that most companies are not listed and they are not subjected to some policies regarding financial standards and yet, they are very active for the environment.

“So, we need to be inclusive when we are talking about sustainability. So, I think our accountants now need to think outside the box. They should not domesticate sustainability in their domain and area of practice.”

The summit was held under the theme Sustainability Beyond the Global Trilemma and was hosted by the Zimbabwe Independent in partnership with Pivot Africa, Claxon Actuaries and the Africa Institute for Carbon Trading and Sustainability.

The Zimbabwe Independent is one of the four newspapers published by the privately-owned media house, Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), alongsideNewsDay, Southern Eye and The Standard.

Maposa noted that some of the challenges in implementing ESG were caused by limited resources and difficulties in engineering and training companies, stakeholders and miners.

He said there was a distinction between ESG and sustainability, in that while the former focused on environmental, social and governance aspects, the latter encompassed a broader range of issues such as innovation.

“Organisations should prioritise sustainability in their strategies, recognising that ESG is merely a component of the larger sustainability framework,” Maposa said.-newsda