Not so long ago, corporate social responsibility (CSR) was the primary programme for a corporation to demonstrate its commitment to the community. Today, CSR seems limited compared to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals, according to Steven Commander, HID’s Head of Consultants and Regulations, Mature Markets.

“Sustainability has become a major influence on business decisions, with nearly two-thirds of organisations around the world now considering it when upgrading their systems,” states Steven Commander. He adds:

“The result of interviews with more than 1,200 enterprise decision-makers around the world, our State of Physical Access Trend Report identified five main trends in physical security. One of them was a strong movement towards aligning security decisions with environmental goals.”

Topping the corporate agenda

Sustainability has been pushing its way to the top of the corporate agenda for some time now.

“Some of the world’s largest companies are recognising that the next generation of consumers are linking brand reputation to a broader spectrum of behaviours beyond just the viability, availability, and price of goods and services,” says Steven Commander.

Steven Commander’s claim is supported by the fact that more than 90 percent of S&P 500 companies and 70 percent of Russell 1000 companies in the United States now publish ESG reports.

Europe is ahead

In Europe, organisations listed on the FTSEurofirst 300 and KOSPI 200 indices are ahead of their market peers when it comes to climate transition plans, with 77 percent and 74 percent of organizations respectively disclosing at least two-thirds of the indicators that make up a credible plan, according to a climate transition plan report developed by CDP, a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states, and regions.

Customer-driven trend

The changing attitudes of the public are rippling across industries to corporate procurement teams, many of which want suppliers to be more transparent about operations, product sourcing, and R&D practices, claims Steven Commander.

“This shift is driven by businesses listening to their customers. HID’s survey reflects this trend, finding that 87 percent of respondents rank sustainability as ‘important to extremely important’ to their customers,” he states.

Energy-saving – a top priority

Security leaders are increasingly consulting other stakeholders before upgrading or replacing systems. About 63 percent of respondents in HID’s survey said sustainability officers have some degree of influence when it comes to upgrading physical access percent reported that the company’s sustainability goals were a major influence on the decision to upgrade their organisation’s physical access control solution. Energy-saving solutions also emerged as one of the top three trends shaping the access control industry, cited by around 14 percent of executives.

Bamboo instead of plastic cards

As ESG rises, businesses are taking a thoughtful look at their supply chains in both directions. Recognising that they are also a link in the chain, organisations are evaluating their own contributions.

“Sustainability is strongly linked to the reduction of plastic. When applied to physical security, bamboo cards offer a fitting alternative in use cases where physical badges are a requirement, such as in hospitals and government facilities,” says Steven Commander.

Mobile access leading the way

When it comes to eco-friendliness, mobile access is unparalleled: users do not need a physical card, just their smartphones or wearables. Mobile access is also convenient for digital-native employees, who rarely go anywhere without their smart¬phones.

Mobile credentials in e-wallets are the future

Physical security is already undergoing significant digital transformation across the Nordic region, as organisations from various industries seek to maximize the benefits of cloud migration.

“Mobile credentials hosted in e-wallets offer all the benefits of plastic badge-centric systems, and more – they are easily issued, replaced, and rescinded. Such solutions deserve a place in our ESG future – an inclusive future that is cleaner and more secure,” concludes Steven Commander.