You are the COO (Chief Operating Officer) in a construction business with an annual turnover in excess of €50m per annum and c. 200 employees. After an extensive process the business has agreed a much-needed strategic investment to enable it to expand it’s activities and help secure its future.

Like all such transactions, there are a range of conditions that must be satisfied before the investment can occur. One of the key conditions of the investment is that the business has an acceptable Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Framework.

You have been assigned the task of putting this framework in place within a tight timeline so that the investment can proceed as needed. All aspects of the framework do not need to be in place for the investment to proceed, but there must be a plan to support having it in place in a reasonable timeframe.

You are asked to: Outline the requirements for an ESG/Sustainability Framework that might be expected for a business of this scale (50 %). Outline all the elements of the ESG Framework that you will put in place and a realistic timeline for implementation of the plan