Internal auditors should consider several key questions when examining their organization’s environmental, social, and governance activities.
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues represent a growing area of focus among today’s stakeholders. In the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2021, businesses surveyed point to multiple ESG-related risks high in likelihood and impact, including extreme weather events, climate action failure, natural resource crisis, and infectious diseases. The report noted each as a threat not only to business activities, but to resilience of social infrastructure, emphasizing both economic and societal challenges.