What is Sustainability, ESG, and CSR?

All three terminologies complement each other, each serving different purpose; both Sustainability and ESG as a term are often used interchangeably

 

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to management concept where companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business  operations and interactions with their stakeholders

In practice, typically CSR is more focused towards independently driven initiatives that are philanthropic and not related to core functions of the business

 

Sustainability

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs; often coined to include three dimensions: environmental, economic, and social dimensions

In practice, often used to describe only the "E" of ESG or some organizations use synonymously with ESG

 

ESG

ESG refers to the Environmental, Social and Governance criteria that investors use to screen investments and determine whether to include or exclude a given company in their fund

In practice, ESG looks at all environmental, social, and governance issues for an organization across core business, operations, and philanthropy / CSR levers