There are many ESG initiatives that seem so important to companies, but corporate resources are limited, so trade-offs often have to be made. Balancing long-term environmental and social impacts with short-term profits is one of the biggest challenges for companies. Another example I've seen in conversations with companies was the reduction of Scope 3 GHG emissions versus supplier benefits. One of the ways to prioritize these ESG initiatives is to assess materiality. For reference, I have put together some examples of the materiality matrix from recent corporate sustainability reports. I found that Altria, a tobacco company, has done this materiality assessment on a large scale. They surveyed 9500 people who are stakeholders, such as employees, consumers, growers, suppliers, trading partners, government officials, communities, NGOs, etc. They spend 4 pages explaining the methodology in their sustainability report. If you look at GM's materiality matrix, it says that developing the electric vehicle market is most important, and they use the matrix to support their corporate strategy, which focuses on electric mobility and sends clear messages to readers. Conducting a materiality analysis and communicating about it in sustainability reports becomes very important.
1, Altria 2020 Materiality Matrix
Source: Altria Engage and Lead Responsibility: 2020 - 2021 (P.14)
2, GM 2019 Materiality Matrix
Source: GM 2019 Sustainability Report (P.32)
4, American Express Materiality Matrix
5, eBay Materiality Matrix
Source: eBay Impact 2019 Report (P.7)
