At a moment of unprecedented attention, investment and opportunity for the emerging field of ESG, NationSwell supports leaders who are asking: Who is best preparing their organization for the society of the future? Who is innovating today to meet decades-long environmental and social goals? Who is setting standards that catalyze their industry’s change for the better? Who is defining what bold and aspirational look like — and how best to advance that work in practice? 

Over the course of the next year, our executive team is profiling the investors, executives, authors, philanthropists, social sector leaders, academics, and more who are helping to shape business as a force for social and environmental progress. No one leader has all the answers about what the future will bring — and none of these ESG practitioners claim to. They will be the first to speak to the difficult, complex and ever-shifting nature of this work; of the steep challenges and hard questions they grapple with day-in and day-out. 

Yet, all of these leaders are operating at the highest level of our field — and, as such, helping to shape it. They are advancing — and even pioneering the most forward-thinking and effective programs, initiatives, technologies, methodologies, practices, and approaches. All are pushing the intellectual envelope to create the positive outcomes that our communities, our economic system, our planet, and our future need. 

That is why you should know them — and why we think you will enjoy learning and engaging with them as much as we did. 

Introducing the ESG Next, NationSwell’s new monthly interview series designed to give you a glimpse of what’s ahead within this emerging and fast-evolving field of ESG. 

Together, the ESG Next will explore key issues that the leading practitioners NationSwell has supported since 2013 have surfaced to us through the years: issues like how leaders can do the most with what they have, whether it’s better to go deep on one key focus area or wide across many, how best to align strategy and programs within the business, the models and frameworks that best to achieve impact and report out progress and challenges, the keys to success, the best practices for partnerships, effective ways to use data to inform decision making and outcomes, the best ways to tell your ESG story to a myriad of important stakeholders, and how to navigate boards and c-suite for alignment, buy-in, and impact.

At the beginning of each month, we’ll give [[NationSwell members]] an exclusive sneak peak of our upcoming issue of the ESG Next in our newsletter products. Then, we’ll publish new installments on our public platform.  We’re excited to kick off this series with an interview with [[Rose Stuckey Kirk]], chief corporate social responsibility officer at Verizon, who talked to us about the importance of professionalizing the field of ESG, the false premise that leaders have to choose between business opportunity and social good, and the art of “walking the halls” of your company to achieve internal buy-in on your impact initiatives. If you are a practitioner, we hope the series — and the diverse insights and practices contained herein – will help you to take your ESG efforts to the next level of efficacy and impact.