A CEO once asked me with a smile, “Can’t you just wave your ESG wand and make this all happen?” The room laughed. For me, though, it wasn’t funny. After nearly two decades of working as an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) professional, carbon market designer, and architect of carbon, circular economy and ESG software systems, I know one thing for certain: there is no magic wand.
I hold an early patent in the digital circular economy, and I have had the privilege of working as a scientific consultant in Australia, Europe and Southeast Asia to forge a successful career. But my journey in developing and low-cost economies such as India and Bangladesh has been harder. Despite my credentials, opportunities have been scarce. Why? The willingness to pay for “environment and pollution prevention” is low, the competition fierce or the appetite for adopting standardized sustainability frameworks weak.
Does this mean companies abroad are pro-sustainable development? Not really. Even companies with exorbitant profits in Australia and Europe spend the bare minimum to develop their ESG reports. They do so because compliance requires it – not because sustainability is embedded in their vision.
But this isn’t just my story – it’s a microcosm of the larger struggle within the ESG (environmental, social and governance) sector. Often, there isn’t even a defined budget for ESG, forget actual sustainability action. Many companies lack dedicated teams. One or two individuals are hired and expected to cover everything – from data entry to managing projects to carbon accounting, and from implementing sustainability initiatives to reporting directly to the top management and ensuring compliance, irrespective of the size of the company or its profits.
Does an ESG expert have a magic wand? How can one professional realistically match such vast and conflicting expectations?
Sustainability isn’t a nice-to-have
It is an existential necessity. Climate change is intensifying, resource scarcity is real, and communities are demanding accountability from businesses. ESG frameworks, when applied with seriousness, help companies prepare for risks, remain competitive and build long-term resilience.
Globally, the policy landscape is changing fast. In Europe, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires detailed disclosures across environmental and social metrics. In Australia, mandatory climate-related financial disclosures will soon be enforced, affecting thousands of companies. Internationally, standards like IFRS S1 and S2 are redefining sustainability reporting. In the US, clean tech and clean energy investment are continuing apace despite adverse leadership priorities. In India, Kerala has reportedly become the first state to institute an ESG policy, with the aim of attracting ESG-compliant investments.
On paper, this looks like progress. In practice, ESG remains underfunded and under-prioritized. Even in high-profit economies, many companies allocate bare minimum budgets for ESG reporting. Instead of embedding sustainability into strategy, they treat it as a compliance checkbox. Compliance is viewed as a cost burden – budgets are negligible, staff are overstretched and leadership is largely disengaged.
In India and across much of the developing world, the picture is even more complex. Companies shy away from standardized systems that could integrate sustainability into their operations. Competition for consultancy projects pushes fees so low that real expertise cannot be sustained. The result is fragmented, inconsistent and often superficial ESG action.
The misunderstanding is profound. Too often, business leaders think ESG is simply a report – a glossy PDF to satisfy regulators or investors. What they overlook is that ESG is actually a system.
This issue is important because when ESG is treated as a tick-box exercise, the consequences ripple beyond the boardroom. The ones who suffer most are the general public and, ultimately, future generations. Sustainability is not a side project – it is the foundation of resilient economies and safe societies.
The term ESG itself conceals a jungle of expertise. Environment alone spans carbon accounting, circular economy, waste management, water efficiency, biodiversity, EIA/EMP (environmental management plan) frameworks, and more. Social covers HR parameters, occupational health and safety, community engagement and legal compliance. Governance, often a hidden and little understood pillar, requires oversight on ethics, transparency and accountability structures. And yet, most companies expect one or two individuals to deliver across all three pillars simultaneously. This is neither realistic nor sustainable.
Who can fix this?
The mainstream narrative assumes ESG professionals can bridge every gap. But without adequate resources, teams and budgets, ESG experts are turned into puppets.
The truth is: climate disasters, resource depletion and unsafe working conditions do not hurt balance sheets in the short term, but they devastate lives. The general public and future generations pay the price for companies’ inaction.
Who is the culprit? The ones who profit the most while doing the least – corporate leaders who prioritise quarterly gains over sustainable systems.
Who is neutral? Policymakers often appear neutral, creating mandatory rules but stopping short of ensuring accountability in practice.
This fuels greenwashing – creating the illusion of progress while avoiding systemic change. Superficial compliance not only wastes resources but also erodes public trust.
The solution is simple. Companies can spend marginally more today to build genuine systems, or they can pay exponentially higher costs tomorrow when crises strike.
So what can be done?
- Governments must go beyond mandates and incentivise leadership accountability. Carrots matter as much as sticks – reward proactive compliance, not just punish failures.
- Businesses must recognise ESG not as a burden but as a driver of resilience, competitiveness and trust. Integrate sustainability into operations, embed it as a system. Companies need multidisciplinary teams, adequate budgets and leadership buy-in.
- Communities and individuals must demand transparency, pushing companies to go beyond glossy reports into real impact. Communities must hold institutions accountable for outcomes, not only disclosures.
Here’s a check-list
- Invest in systems, not symbolism: Sustainability cannot survive as a one-person-office for hundreds of departments and regional offices. It requires systems: clear budgets, specialized teams, robust data management, and digital platforms that integrate across business functions. A report is not a system.
- Leadership must be owned, not outsourced: ESG cannot be relegated to compliance officers or consultants. It must be owned by top leadership and embedded into corporate DNA. CEOs and boards should ask not what’s the minimum required, but rather, what’s the right thing to do for resilience and growth.
- Create policy with teeth: Policies are growing stronger, but enforcement remains weak. Regulators must go beyond mandating disclosure to ensuring measurable action. Penalties for non-compliance, incentives for leadership and support for innovation are all needed. Policy neutrality helps no one, and leaves the door open for profit-driven negligence.
- Collaborate across borders: Both the global north and south face ESG challenges, albeit in different ways. What’s needed is structured collaboration: knowledge transfer, technology sharing and global standards that reduce fragmentation. Whether in Paris or Pune, ESG must mean the same thing if we are to tackle global sustainability risks.
Do we, as leaders, professionals, and citizens, have the will to make sustainability a system, not a slogan? Afterall, ESG is not about experts, reports, or even compliance. It is about the world we are shaping for our children and their children. It does not require magic. It requires responsibility.
Dr Shalini Sharma is Director & Innovator at the Global Institute for Circular Economy and Sustainable Development Goals (ICE&SDGs), Hyderabad, India. An alumna of Columbia University (Fulbright-Nehru), Humboldt (DAAD) and University of Oxford (Chevening), she has over 17 years’ expertise in environment and sustainability, and advises companies on ESG strategy, circular economy solutions and carbon credits projects. She is also an ESG software architect.
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Tl;dr: A summary for the busy, the curious, and the done-for-today
Invest in systems, not symbolism: Sustainability cannot survive as a one-person-office for hundreds of departments and regional offices. It requires systems: clear budgets, specialized teams, robust data management, and digital platforms that integrate across business functions. A report is not a system.
Leadership must be owned, not outsourced: ESG cannot be relegated to compliance officers or consultants. It must be owned by top leadership and embedded into corporate DNA. CEOs and boards should ask not what’s the minimum required, but rather, what’s the right thing to do for resilience and growth.
Create policy with teeth: Policies are growing stronger, but enforcement remains weak. Regulators must go beyond mandating disclosure to ensuring measurable action. Penalties for non-compliance, incentives for leadership and support for innovation are all needed. Policy neutrality helps no one, and leaves the door open for profit-driven negligence.
Collaborate across borders: Both the global north and south face ESG challenges, albeit in different ways. What’s needed is structured collaboration: knowledge transfer, technology sharing and global standards that reduce fragmentation. Whether in Paris or Pune, ESG must mean the same thing if we are to tackle global sustainability risks.
