Today, investors’ engagement activities are characterised by a range of enablers and barriers to engagement success, such as challenges to adequately record, monitor, and evaluate engagement progress, which can undermine the ability to influence corporates and become a hindrance to successful engagements. Progressive investors understands that an unconsidered - operational or system-wise - approach to engagement tracking can exaggerate such challenges,  and that enabling capacities therefore are key to ensuring a smooth workflow.

 

In discussions with investors, we encounter a variety of solutions (and combinations thereof) to assist with engagement tracking. From utilising Excel or Sharepoint, to different CRM/RMS softwares, or bespoke solutions, they all come with their disadvantages. Be it around user experience, fragmentation of data and version management, implementation costs, or longer-term service and innovation commitments. 

 

Esgaia was founded based on this insight of current approaches to engagement tracking as generally inefficient and not fit-for-purpose, making it hard to establish smooth workflows. To avoid suboptimal use of resources, investors need therefore to holistically assess process efficiency and system capabilities. In the new eBook ‘Five Reasons Investors Use an ESG Engagement Tracking Software’, we provide actionable insights and requirements for ESG teams and investment departments on how to successfully operationalise the engagement process.

For additional perspectives, please read our blog post ‘Growing investor stewardship impact through technology’