Establishing an ESG strategy for Tribal governments

ESG (environmental, social, and governance) factors can impact an organization’s reputational, political, and operational risk. How ESG is implemented and reported varies by industry and organization.

For Tribal governments, your unique ESG strategy will depend on the nature of your government operations, your enterprises, and your Tribal members’ and council’s priorities and long-term goals. Because you have elected officials, you’ll want to ensure your strategy has a strong focus on governance.

Steps to establishing an ESG strategy and program

1. Conduct a readiness assessment
2. Identify a leader
3. Decide outcomes you want to achieve

Readiness assessment

Identify whether or not you have the organizational resources, skills, and capacity to establish a strategy and program. If not, assess:

• What gaps exist?
• What resources may you need to address those gaps?

If you build an ESG strategy that isn’t supported, there are potential risks to the Tribe’s reputation and the strategy’s effectiveness.

Identify a leader

Once you’re ready to establish a strategy, identify a leader to champion the creation and execution of the ESG program.

This leader should have enough authority across the Tribal government and enterprises to gather data, engage cross-functional teams, and influence strategy.

Decide outcomes you want to achieve

Decide the outcomes you want to achieve through your ESG initiatives. Ask yourself what’s meaningful to your Tribal members, your council, your staff, and other stakeholders?

Considerations for Tribal government operations:

• Sustainable and socially responsible investing
• Environmental impact of government and enterprise operations