New research shows organizations are heightening their focus on ESG amidst strengthened disclosure requirement, despite public backlash

Forty-five percent of corporate directors globally say they need greater insight into how their company’s sustainability goals link to corporate strategy, according to new insights from Diligent Institute and Spencer Stuart. The need for clarity on what environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) means for the business comes amidst heightened disclosure expectations and requirements, with 60% of directors taking action to ensure their ESG strategy is reflected in annual reports, and 53% enhancing ESG disclosures.

Despite strategy challenges, the second annual Sustainability in the Spotlight report, which surveyed nearly 1,000 corporate directors around the world, reveals that most companies globally view ESG in terms of opportunity than risk. There is a geographical divide, however, with European companies more likely to view ESG as an opportunity compared to their U.S. counterparts, at 56% compared to 30%. Meanwhile, U.S. companies are more likely to view ESG as a risk than their European counterparts, at 34% compared to 13%.

“Whether you treat ESG as a risk or opportunity, or both, successful organizations need to understand their data to ensure they are staying compliant with disclosure requirements and meeting the expectations of shareholders and stakeholders,” said Lisa Edwards, Executive Chair of Diligent Institute. “These findings suggest that boards are taking sustainability seriously, and looking for greater clarity into how it factors into their overall corporate strategy.”

Other top findings from the report include:

The biggest obstacles to ESG progress center on strategy.

• 22% of directors indicate competing business or strategic topics on the board agenda, and the same amount report a lack of clarity for what ESG means to the business.

• Only 2% of directors identify public backlash against ESG as being one of the largest obstacles to ESG strategy and implementation.

Many organizations report plans to strengthen their focus on ESG in the next 5 years.

• 90% of organizations have incorporated environmental goals or metrics into their business, and 87% have done the same for social goals/metrics.

• 29% predict a more concerted effort on ESG initiatives in the next five years, and 18% predict stronger linkage between ESG initiatives and business impact.

ESG is a global issue, but European boards are more engaged and optimistic about ESG issues than their U.S. counterparts.

• 63% of European boards evaluate progress on ESG goals and strategies on a quarterly basis or more, compared to 44% of U.S. boards. Additionally, 34% of European boards feel ESG metrics led to better performance of their stock, compared to just 15% of U.S. boards.

• In the U.S., only 25% of directors believe their organizations have effective leadership and high ambition across both environmental and social issues, compared to 50% of directors in Europe.

The boardroom has heightened focus and energy on reporting.

• 60% are taking extra care to ensure that their ESG strategy is adequately reflected in annual reports/filings.

• 53% of directors say their organizations are enhancing current ESG disclosures.

“Our survey shows that many boards have made great strides in formalizing their approach to sustainability by defining oversight responsibilities and establishing sustainability metrics in many parts of the business,” said Jason Baumgarten, head of Spencer Stuart’s global CEO and Board Practice and the firm’s sustainability initiatives. “Companies that go further and rigorously define sustainability strategies that link to their business model have the opportunity to unlock tremendous value and unleash the next wave of growth.”

View the full report here.

American Express, Cargill, CVS Health, Johnson & Johnson, Whole Foods Market and Other Early Customers Say Vyond Go is a Breakthrough in Video Creation

Vyond Go, the industry's first AI-powered script and video creator, is now available from Vyond. Vyond Go is seamlessly integrated into the Vyond Platform and will help companies supercharge the speed, ease, and scalability of their business communications.

Vyond Go is a breakthrough in AI-powered video creation. With an easy-to-use, prompt-based interface, users can build a first draft of their video instantly from a few simple prompts, with or without their own pre-existing content. Using Vyond’s simple text-based editor, users can quickly make edits to their script which are then immediately reflected in their video.

Videos can then be used as-is or users can bring them into Vyond Studio to further fine-tune and polish using Vyond’s full suite of editing capabilities. Vyond Go is available today to all customers at no additional charge across all Vyond plans.

“With Vyond Go, developing engaging, professional-quality videos has never been easier – which is a game-changer for business communications,” said Vyond CEO Gary Lipkowitz. “It is like no other product because Vyond Go integrates generative AI into our workflow and pulls content from our massive content library so that videos made in seconds are always relevant to the business and the use case. Our customers have signaled that this is our most innovative release to date.”

Vyond Go users can choose from different locations, formats, and vibes, and more than 70 languages to create the perfect representation of their message. The ability to go from a “blank page” to a relevant rough-cut video in seconds is a productivity multiplier, especially compared to expensive and time consuming traditional video production.

“When you’re creating new training content, sometimes you just don’t know where to begin,” said Jason Ferguson from Whole Foods Market. He is the Principal Learning and Development Analyst, Change Enablement there and manages a team of instructional designers who use Vyond. “My team will love this. Being able to go from prompt to editable video not only gets you past that initial block, it gets you most of the way there – in just a few seconds, instead of days or weeks. By bringing generative AI right into our existing workflow, Vyond Go will save us valuable time to focus more on strategy.”

DataGroomr today announced it has launched Verification for Email, Phone, and Address | Validation by DataGroomr on Salesforce AppExchange to provide a thorough verification process that checks email addresses, phone numbers, and postal addresses for accuracy and validity. The app reduces the risk of errors and improves the quality of customer data. Verify is being offered as a free app with the Lightning Component, and can be used on individual items or in bulk data verification.

Verification for Email, Phone, and Address | Validation by DataGroomr is currently available AppExchange at https://appexchange.salesforce.com/appxListingDetail?listingId=a0N4V00000JLKIpUAP&channel=recommended&tab=e

DataGroomr Verify gives sales teams the confidence of working with up-to-date and reliable data, which leads to better outreach and higher conversion rates. Additionally, enhancing organizational operations through improved data quality helps to reduce costs associated with returned shipments and failed deliveries, and to optimize onboarding, sales outreach, and checkout experiences.

DataGroomr's AI algorithms identify and eliminate duplicates within Salesforce and during imports. With a modern, fast, and intuitive interface, DataGroomr does not require any standardization or normalization of data to detect duplicates and dedupe import files before data reaches Salesforce.

Comments on the News 

"We're pleased to offer Verification for Email, Phone, and Address | Validation by DataGroomr to users who are looking for a more reliable way to confirm the accuracy of their data," said DataGroomr President Steve Pogrebivsky. "With our app, users can quickly and easily verify emails, phone numbers, and addresses. In this way, you can ensure that you are providing the best experience for your customers and your sales teams."

"DataGroomr Verify is a welcome addition to AppExchange, as it accelerates business transformation for customers by empowering companies to minimize human and instrument errors that are frequently introduced during data processing," said David Lee, Vice President of Product Management, AppExchange. "AppExchange is constantly evolving to connect customers with the right apps and experts for their business needs."

Gatekeeper, a leading vendor and contract management software solution, today announced the release of its Contract Summary feature. In partnership with OpenAI, the organisation behind the ChatGPT language model, Gatekeeper has developed this powerful solution that ensures quick understanding of any contract document for all users.

Gatekeeper, a leading vendor and contract management software solution, today announced the release of its Contract Summary feature. In partnership with OpenAI, the organisation behind the ChatGPT language model, Gatekeeper has developed this powerful solution that ensures quick understanding of any contract document for all users.

Contracts are essential for businesses, but they often contain complex legal language that can be difficult to decipher, even for legal professionals. Recognising this challenge, Gatekeeper has harnessed the power of artificial intelligence to bridge the gap between complex contracts and user comprehension.

By leveraging OpenAI’s TL;DR technology, the Contract Summary feature generates concise and user-friendly contract summaries within seconds, empowering users to navigate their contractual obligations with ease.

“Gatekeeper is dedicated to providing our users with innovative tools that enhance their contract management experience,” says Patrick O’Connor, CEO at Gatekeeper. “With the Contract Summary feature powered by OpenAI, we are taking a significant step forward in simplifying the interpretation of complex legal agreements. All users can now quickly grasp the key points and implications of their contracts, enabling more informed decision-making.”

The Contract Summary feature is a game-changer for busy professionals, offering a significant time-saving solution that streamlines the entire contract review process. By providing key elements of a contract in an easily digestible format, users can quickly grasp essential details, allowing them to allocate more time to other high-value tasks that require their expertise.

Cloudinary, the image and video platform that powers many of the world’s top brands, today launched New Ventures. The new Cloudinary initiative will serve as an incubator to drive a sustainable competitive advantage by exploring new domains and market opportunities in visual media and applying groundbreaking technologies like generative AI. New Ventures’ debut release is FinalTouch, a powerful generative AI solution that transforms generic product images into captivating, brand-friendly scenes in an instant. Currently in alpha release and open for early access, FinalTouch is purpose-built for small and growing e-commerce brands that lack dedicated design and tech resources. To sign up, visit https://final-tou.ch/ and read more in today’s blog.

The relentless demand for compelling, high-quality images and videos that engage audiences is greater than ever, particularly in e-commerce. According to Cloudinary’s recent e-commerce survey, having a ‘detailed product gallery’ was a top criteria (57%) in defining what makes a ‘great shopping experience.’ However, creating engaging visual content at scale often requires a significant investment of time and resources. With FinalTouch, businesses can create images and ads in minutes without the need for design and developer attention, saving valuable time and enabling them to commit specialist resources to more meaningful activities.

For example, this means a furniture brand can take a picture of a new couch in its warehouse without needing to first establish a proper photoshoot background. The retailer then uploads the photo to FinalTouch, which identifies the product and creates a high-quality product image. From there, the conversational interface makes it easy to instantly create a variety of scenes for customers to see how the couch looks in the context of different living room styles. FinalTouch is also useful for seasonal or holiday promotions, creating unique visual experiences in seconds without the need for a photoshoot.

“New Ventures embodies Cloudinary's inherent entrepreneurial spirit, deepening our commitment to continuous innovation and disruption. Our focus is on nurturing audacious pioneers, creating hockey-stick growth avenues, and harnessing the power of transformational technologies to shape the future of visual media," said Daniel Amitai, vice president of innovation at Cloudinary. “New Ventures blends the agility of visionary teams operating like a startup with the foresight of an established company and the invaluable perspective of our users, customers, and partners. Together, we're poised to increase our chances of uncovering and capitalizing on the most promising new opportunities."

"Generative AI opens up an entirely new world of opportunities for businesses and creators alike and media creation will never be the same,” said Barak Leon, general manager for FinalTouch at Cloudinary. “With FinalTouch, we are empowering businesses to transform their visual content in minutes, without the need for specialized design skills. Our aim is to make advanced generative AI tools accessible to all and to simplify the often costly and complex creative processes that ambitious brands must overcome. By starting with virtual photoshoots, we are helping brands reimagine their product galleries and create visually captivating product images their customers will fall in love with."

Investor demand and revenue opportunities drive C-suite leaders’ sustainability plans

Stem, a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven clean energy software and services, today announced the results of a new survey that reveals Fortune 1000 C-suite leaders’ perspectives on and investment plans for sustainability. According to the survey, despite current economic uncertainties and ongoing energy challenges, a majority (57%) of leaders are increasing their investments in sustainable solutions and clean technology. The survey findings highlight a critical shift in the business landscape, driven by two principal factors: (40%) investor demand and (39%) the potential for new revenue sources. Investments in sustainability technology, specifically AI-powered software and clean energy storage solutions, emerged as a priority among Fortune 1000 leaders in the U.S. to tackle energy costs, decrease emissions, and unlock new revenue streams.

Importantly, the urgency of sustainability investments was confirmed with nearly all (93%) respondents agreeing energy challenges will negatively impact their business in the next 12 months, and 99% are planning to focus on cleantech solutions over the next 12 months to help address those energy challenges.

Leaders’ sustainability investments encompass many new energy-efficient technologies and digital software solutions. Fifty-three percent are specifically tapping the power of software to improve efficiency. Above all, the survey showed that battery storage (60%) and energy optimization software (60%) are the main energy technologies that leaders are currently adopting or planning to adopt. Thirty-five percent plan to combine these powerful technologies together. Leaders also see data integration (53%), artificial intelligence (AI) software (52%), and application integration (51%) as top digital technologies they need to reach their sustainability goals.

Beyond their core sustainability investments, leaders are also taking advantage of new government legislation and policies: 92% of leaders are using tax incentives offered by policies like the Inflation Reduction Act. Over half (53%) have made minor improvements to their existing sustainability initiatives based on new policies and legislations, and 39% have started major new initiatives. They are funding these projects with re-distributed budgets (55%), incentives from utilities (50%) as well as federal or state tax incentives (46%).

“Sustainability investments can fuel growth and better position businesses for future success. In the short term, these investments can save costs and counter the negative effects of energy challenges, and in the long term they can provide an additional revenue source,” said John Carrington, CEO of Stem. “Stem believes that by integrating advanced clean energy technologies, businesses are better able to achieve enhanced resilience, a competitive edge, investor support, and long-term profitability, demonstrating that the drive toward sustainability is not just a moral or social commitment, but a key business strategy. At Stem, we’re seeing this take shape as our customers, including multiple Fortune 500 companies, leverage our integrated, AI-driven solution to maximize value across their clean energy assets that include battery storage, solar, and EV charging.”