The ESG Standards with Tom Fox and Erika Peters

Gatekeepers of third parties have to handle evolving new questions that ensure ESG initiatives align with the company’s values, providing for the welfare of the employees, communities and the environment. Erika Peters, Managing Director and Global Head of Third Party and Supply Chain Risk management at Exiger, chats with Thomas Fox on episode 11 of The ESG Compliance Podcast on the importance of these third parties as an extension of the company and how to hold them accountable.

Gatekeepers of third parties have to handle evolving new questions that ensure ESG standards and initiatives align with the company’s values, providing for the welfare of the employees, communities and the environment. Erika Peters, Managing Director and Global Head of Third Party and Supply Chain Risk management at Exiger, chats with Thomas Fox on episode 11 of The ESG Compliance Podcast on the importance of these third parties as an extension of the company and how to hold them accountable.

ESG Standards: Key Takeaways

• Admittingly, the risk is all around a company’s entire ecosystem. Peters says that no third party is more critical and may have a higher risk than another. From an ESG perspective, companies must look at all parties involved that can potentially hurt their brand and reputation.
• On an ESG framework that doesn’t really exist. Many companies around ESG have been asking for government guidance, regulation, or other government signals on standards they should follow. The firststep is to see what they already have and the existing data and bring it to one place.
• Technology is the only way to go in 2022 to assess the criticality of a third party. Many companies are still not using technology to bring data together to map their supply chain. They would then understand the effects of the inherent downstream risks.  
• Transparency is vital for supply chain and third-party risk management solutions provider Exiger. With the launch of the platform Supply Chain Explorer, companies can look into any entity in the world’s supply chain.
• Supply chain and third parties are more than just your direct counterparties. Tom Fox and Erika Peters explore how companies should know third parties more than simply their direct counterparties. They need to have direct contact with the fourth, fifth and perhaps even sixth party all the way down the line.
• Erika cites how leadership is an important component of everything in ESG. More information is necessary for those companies in terms of biographical information. They need to start layering on the risk question and set the framework for creating that compliance picture.  

Related ESG Supply Chain Resources:

• ESG & Supply Chain Transparency
• ESG Risk & Third-Party Due Diligence: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities