Is ESG becoming a defining driver of business growth?

In recent years, cybersecurity quietly rose to the top of executive agendas. The same shift is now happening with ESG. What was once a compliance matter has become a strategic necessity: transparency, accountability, and credible sustainability performance are now the essential foundations of trust.

According to Grant Thornton’s experience, companies that proactively manage ESG not only survive in an uncertain economic and business environment — they evolve, adapt, and gain advantage. The impact mechanism of ESG is complex; it simultaneously influences client service, internal operations, and brand reputation.

Why has ESG become a key domain?

Major crises of the past — the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID period, and ongoing geopolitical tensions — have drawn a clear pattern. Companies that build an integrated ESG strategy consistently outperform in three areas:

• risk management
• value creation
• resilience during crises

Sustainability has now become as strategic as information security once was. Those who act early gain an edge; those who don’t risk falling behind.

The ESG train is already accelerating, and it’s worth getting a ticket in time. Although occasional voices of “rollback” can be heard, international trends and the regulatory environment point firmly in one direction: the role of ESG will continue to grow.

The true depth of the sustainability transition

A recent Harvard Business Review analysis shows that while many companies made ambitious sustainability commitments, delivering on them requires far deeper transformation than most expect.

The drivers of this change are already underway:

• Global frameworks: Paris Climate Agreement
• Regional programmes: EU Green Deal
• New regulations: CSRD, CSDDD, PPWR

This environment not only encourages sustainability transformation — it accelerates it across sectors and value chains.

Thinking in systems — not in projects

Sustainability is not just another CSR initiative; it is an integrated part of business operations. It creates real business value when:

• ESG data flows through a unified system
• business units pursue aligned objectives
• ESG considerations become part of performance management

Instead of isolated initiatives, companies must think in long-term, measurable, interconnected systems.

Is AI the new catalyst for ESG data analysis?

Artificial intelligence is opening a new era in ESG. The following tools are already emerging or rapidly spreading:

• predictive risk analytics for supply chains and environmental risks
• automated, regulation-aligned reporting
• real-time, audit-ready ESG dashboards
• intelligent data aggregation from financial, HR, supplier, IoT and social data

With AI, experts can shift from manual data entry to meaningful analysis and strategic decision-making.

A turning point has arrived for Hungarian companies

In Hungary, ESG is not primarily a regulatory compliance question — the regulatory environment has actually become more flexible. Sustainability is part of business resilience and competitiveness: energy efficiency, water management, waste reduction, employee turnover, transparent internal processes, and regulatory clarity (and many more) are the challenges that must be addressed. Those who start building systemically and early not only comply but gain a market advantage.

Companies that act now will achieve:

• stronger corporate culture
• more resilient operations
• greater market trust
• sustainable growth

If you would like to identify the real business opportunities ESG can unlock for your organisation, we are here to support you.