CFO leadership of sustainability initiatives is crucial for long-term value creation—as well as for ESG objectives. It starts with fundamentals: many CFOs are already fielding questions from investors, and most companies can expect to face a barrage of reporting and compliance requirements in the coming years. Here is where they can build trust among stakeholders, when supported by the Finance function, with its well-established ability to manage information.

In addition, Finance has a host of tools—for forecasting, budgeting, allocation, and score-carding, to name a few—that it can use to bring sustainability factors into every business process and every decision about value creation.

How else to provide a value-forward perspective, for example, on climate-related physical and transition risk? Or understand the impact and opportunities of green taxes and incentives? Or deliver reporting and materiality assessments that investors and other stakeholders can trust? If companies are to find the right balance between fulfilling short-term performance requirements and capturing longer-term opportunities related to sustainability, the CFO’s leadership is indispensable.  

How CFOs further value creation by leading on sustainability | PwC