ESG goals can be realistic but should not be easy

January has come around again any my social feeds are full of folks selling me diet plans, exercise programmes, and tips for self care. It’s so easy to overburden yourself with unrealistic goals and challenges then feel lousy in March when you fail. Psychologists tell us that January is the WORST month to make resolutions because we lack the motivation, or we don’t invest in changing habits for the long-term.
And what about businesses? Plans that were approved in the second half of 2024 are being put into action. So what should we do to make our organisations fitter, safer, healthier, better for the year ahead?
How SMART are you?
Back in the 1960s, American Psychologist, Edwin Locke, wrote how goal-setting drives performance. I’m sure you’ve heard of SMART objectives. The SMART acronym has been attributed to an article by George T Doran in 1981 and provides a framework for setting clear goals and metrics for evaluation. It also supports good governance. The acronym stands for: Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, and Time-bound.
Time to Get Real
I’ve often found that whilst managers are comfortable using the SMART framework, some struggle to define “realistic”. Perhaps it’s because there is still an element of subjectivity. After all, what is realistic for one business (or one person) might not be for another. Another way of looking at this is to ask – are these goals relevant to the organisation? The Corporate Finance Institute defines realistic as “Within reach, realistic, and relevant to your life purpose”.
Considerations
Here are some common questions I ask of my clients when working with them to set new goals
- What is working well now? I gather as much information about a client’s brand that they are prepared to share. Of course this means their mission, values and purpose. However, I also like to delve deeper, do they measure reputation? What insights do they have from customers and business partners? What achievements do they celebrate? Conversely, if something has not gone to plan why is this – could it be due to lack of motivation, ambition, understanding, ability, budget or something else?
- How committed is your organistion? I speak to internal stakeholders across the organisation (not just the managers). There is often a gap between what leaders say they do and how this is interpreted by their teams. At best a lack of “joined up thinking” can be rectified with better communication or new timelines. At worst there are fundamental differences between stakeholder groups that should be investigated then repaired
- Do you have the right skills you need to deliver this? I look at the skills within the organisation – the current capabilities and where they will be in 12 or 24 months time. Is the business investing in upskilling their teams? If not there may be a need to arrange training, recruit new people or hire consultants. It’s all very well having big ambitions but you need to be truthful about your ability to deliver within the current organisation.
- What budget is available? Companies need to consider if they need to invest to reach their ESG goals. This might involve new systems to drive operational efficiencies, for example. Of course it’s important to consider any costs, but equally important is to consider the budget wins – energy savings or new business contracts, for example.
- Do you have the right business practices? You need to ensure that you have the right process and operations in place to deliver the goals. Critical to this is assigning accountability and responsibility – are the critical stakeholders aware of (and committed to) the changes ahead, do they buy in to why you are doing this.
- How much time will you commit? You already have a million different things on your to do list and that’s before you even consider your ESG strategy. Businesses need to honest about the time commitment they have, for sure, but there are smarter ways of working. ESG isn’t a “bolt on”, it’s an integral part of day to day operations. The key is to embed ESG activities into current practices. The time factor is also where it can be helpful to get an “outside in” perspective. Because I’ve worked across multiple clients I can advise on how long things will really take. Stakeholder interviews is one thing that clients always assume will happen quickly. Spoiler alert: they rarely do.
Caution. Realistic does not mean easy.

Realistic does not mean easy.
This is an old article in HBR but the point is well made and still relevant for today. According to the author, Dick Grote, SMART goals may not be wise goals. Additionally (and perhaps more worryingly) setting smart objectives can encourage employees to set low goals, so it’s important to ensure this does not happen.
In the July 2024 Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals report from the United Nations it states that “As we begin the second half of our journey to 2030, signs of a determined, sustained global comeback have yet to emerge. This year’s report reveals that only seventeen per cent of SDGs targets are on track to be achieved, nearly half are showing minimal or moderate progress, and progress on over a third has stalled or even regressed.”

With so much yet to achieve, it’s vital that any goals stretch business to do more, to go further.
If you’d like to have a conversation about your goals and plan for the year ahead, get in touch.