ESG Mindset

“This book is a bold and engaging attempt to unpack the confusion and provides an objective view of an all-round stock-taking on where we go from here with ESG.”

― Helene Li, CEO and Co-Founder, GoImpact Capital Partners

About the book

Today, companies are thrashing their resources and flailing their budgets as they figure out how to disclose metrics, deal with material risks, and capture new opportunities, all while storytelling about impact.

Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance issues cut at the core of business, threatening to upend industries, the markets, and capitalism itself. Yet, despite a renewed focus on ESG, companies struggle to understand its meaning and how it can help address new interconnected crises.

This book guides company leaders and employees to something ESG hasn’t had before – a consistent meaning that uncovers value by realizing the impact of the world on their company while reframing the company’s impact beyond the bottom line and along its purpose.

Available now at Amazon, Kogan Page, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, and wherever books are sold!

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Praise for ESG Mindset

  • "ESG Mindset is a fantastic, insightful, and smart resource that navigates the complexity and nuances of ESG. Matthew Sekol delivers a practical and refreshing perspective on the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, addressing issues for originators, funds, and industry professionals on their journey to sustainability."

    Matt Bird, President & Editor-in-Chief, ESG News

  • "Matthew Sekol's approach to ESG is not just innovative but also deeply insightful, challenging conventional wisdom and pushing the boundaries of how we view corporate responsibility and sustainable business."

    Gihan Hyde, CEO and Founder, Communique

  • "Matthew Sekol has articulated the multi-faceted and interconnected considerations of ESG. ESG Mindset is for anyone interested in gaining a holistic perspective of the past, present, and future of ESG and a terrific primer for those of us leading the ESG charge at companies."

    Veena Jayadeva, Chief Equity and Impact Officer, Conductiv

  • "Matthew Sekol brings ESG back to its origins: as a tool to assess and advance a company's efforts to navigate a volatile and increasingly uncertain world. ESG Mindset is a valuable contribution that offers insight and inspiration on how ESG can inform business operations and strategy to create a just, sustainable, and prosperous future."

    Joel Makower, Chairman and Co-founder, GreenBiz Group (Trellis)

  • "If you find yourself filled with purpose and values and are looking for a way to integrate those into your business and daily work in a lasting way, you've come to the right place. Matthew Sekol will prompt you to ask: what more can we do? What more should I be doing? A must-read primer for ESG for everyone."

    Theodora Lau, Founder, Unconventional Ventures and author of Beyond Good and The Metaverse Economy

  • "ESG Mindset is focused on the changes happening inside every enterprise today. Matthew Sekol's book will help everyone to grasp the mind shift needed to succeed in a complex context, to move faster, and to speak louder."

    Graham Sinclair, Host of ESG and Coffee Podcast, Instructor at Harvard University, and Adjunct Professor at Villanova University

  • "Matthew Sekol underscores the value of ESG as an investment indicator. ESG Mindset shows how ESG can be the innovative solution to both rectifying material risk and to seizing an opportunity to create value for investors."

    Colleen C Davis, Delaware State Treasurer

  • "ESG Mindset is Engaging, Smart, and a Great read. Matthew Sekol makes sense of ESG. He capably explores what ESG means, its history, its challenges, and its potential. And he gives invaluable guidance for companies that want to put ESG into practice."

    Paul Washington, Former Executive Director, The Conference Board ESG Center

  • "This is an invaluable resource for anyone, or any employee, or any company, to address all of the elements of effective ESG. This book covers it all! A must read for anyone wanting to make a difference in the world through their work in ESG."

    Shannon Houde, ESG Leadership Coach, Walk of Life Consulting, Ltd.

  • "Every page of ESG Mindset equips you with tools to navigate the evolving landscape of business. It's an invaluable crash course in corporate sustainability supported by thorough research and practical examples. If you're just starting your journey, picking up this book is an absolute must!"

    Prerana Tirodkar, Senior Sustainability Analyst, Tango

  • "ESG Mindset delves into the world of ESG from a business impact perspective, skillfully drawing parallels between a company's long-term vision and its commitment to ESG pillars. Matthew Sekol's insightful exploration sheds light on the corporate value of ESG. A must-read for anyone seeking to comprehend the evolving dynamics of sustainable business practices."

    Tahmina Day, Global ESG Solution Lead, Archer Technologies

  • "Matthew Sekol provides a straightforward way of thinking about how ESG can provide value creation by integrating rather than prioritizing ESG into strategic decision-making."

    Amanda DeSantis, Founder, The Intangibles Initiative

  • "Matthew Sekol offers a deep exploration of how companies should approach the fundamental changes required to integrate environmental, social, and governance performance factors. This is the perfect book to help you build your ESG expertise and conquer the biggest business challenges of our times."

    Christine Uri, Founder, ESG for In-house Counsel

  • "Matt Sekol's brilliant ESG landscape analysis, insights and actionable ideas in this important book provide a much-needed guide for today's leaders as they navigate the real-world challenges of building and running businesses. This book is a must read for those who strive to drive crucial and impactful returns for their business and society."

    Samantha Katz, Co-Founder, IDiF

Chapters

  • Defining ESG through its origins, covering what it is and isn't, and why an ESG mindset is just the thing to address an imprecise and imperfect world.

  • Covering off on the complex ESG data supply chain, the standards and regulations, and moving into the business value of ESG data, which is often overlooked.

  • The Environmental intersection with the business, including transition and climate risk and material E issues.

  • Covering Friedman to Fink, the Social tipping points that drove ESG attention post 2020, and why the S is in the middle of the acronym.

  • Governance has to come first, stakeholders and materiality are in the middle, and why nothing gets past poor Governance, even the company's survival.

  • Technology is the fourth pillar of ESG and intersects twice with companies. First, it can solve ESG issues. Second, it has similar risks and opportunities to the rest of the pillars.

  • Covering the rise of intangibles, mainstreaming ESG across the business with an example journey, and how to drive ESG improvements and innovation.

  • ESG started as a financial services concept. This chapter looks at ESG through banking, capital markets, and insurance

  • Criticisms of ESG from activists and anti-ESG pundits and using an ESG mindset as a defense through consistency and materiality.

  • The interconnected nature of ESG and the risks that put pressure on a company, including a polycrisis!

  • A review of how business can do well by doing good by bringing ESG concepts to the core functions and how the path to impact lies through ESG.

  • A review of where ESG needs to go next and how trends may evolve, including timing the end of ESG well.

Who is this book for?

  • Business leaders who are looking to move beyond disclosures into the business value of ESG through mainstreaming the concept across the organization.

  • CSR, sustainability, and ESG professionals who are making the case to fund improvements and innovation toward resilient operations.

  • Employees who are filled with a newfound sense of purpose and looking to channel their energy and time into meaningful and productive work.

About the author

Matthew Sekol is a Sustainability Global Black Belt on Microsoft’s Cross-Industry team. He has spent nearly 20 years working at the nexus of business and technology and advocates for data, technology, and ESG to drive change.

He also serves on the LP Advisory Committee of Morgan Stanley’s Next Level Fund, which inclusively invests in underrepresented startups. In 2023, Onalytica named him to its Who's Who in ESG influencer list. In 2024, he joined Enzo Advisors, an ESG consultancy, as a Senior Advisor.