Digital ESG scorecards choose where money flows

It's 2040, and investment is completely driven by environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics, scores, and reporting. The blockchain-powered global ESG scorecard is the technological underpinning of the new age of generational transparency. Leveraging autonomous data capturing and automatic reporting, the digital ESG scorecard provides complete transparency into an organization's processes, business model, sustainability practices and waste production levels. What was once difficult to accurately measure is now the norm in which people live. Positive results on the scorecard lead to benefits such as reduced insurance premiums, the green stamp of approval from government bodies and valuable contracting and sourcing opportunities.

Global stock exchanges leverage real-time data on environmental violations, gaps in gender and racial outcomes, and investments in underprivileged segments of the population. An international partnership of leaders in business, government and advocacy groups exercises governance over ESG thresholds that determine a company's rights to trade and financing.

Organizations today understand that the only way to protect their bottom line is through robust investment into the processes and assets that drive up their digital ESG scorecards. The younger generations continue this charge and are increasingly more concerned about the ESG performance of corporates, start-ups and governments. More than just an investment consideration, ESG is a critical differentiator in the battle for talent as young workers consider these metrics in their career choices. No company today can be successful without embracing ESG considerations.

Significant environmental and political crises in the 2020s gave way to a stronger emphasis on international agreements to tackle the world's biggest challenges. Influential leaders in government and business took note of an insurmountable grassroots effort by the youngest generations demanding transparency and accountability in ESG outcomes. The technology industry and global regulators intersected to find a mechanism for transparent reporting, and organizations started coming together to form one blockchain-enabled platform.

The blowback for organizations that resisted the momentum was monumental. Those that remained competitive took action to increase equality and equity. By the 2030s, consumers in every economy held businesses accountable for their current as well as past business relationships, and ESG became foundational to institutional success. Fines and regulations played their part, but it was the stakeholders and activists who influenced the markets the most. 

Today people live in a new economic reality where a transparent ESG score is the foundation of consumer trust and organizational stability. Companies that fail to address inequality and inequity can no longer hide behind token compliance and obfuscated processes, though debates still rage over the ethics of social metrics. Risk and volatility are investor measurements that are no longer limited to financial viability. Performance metrics like these only matter when linked with a strong ESG score. Looking ahead to tomorrow, ESG compliance is an expectation, not an advantage, and only the companies that continue to innovate and drive progress will succeed.