Description

70% of board members acknowledge they are fully conscious that ESG matters — yet 70% also admit they are not efficient at integrating it into strategy and governance. Meanwhile, one in three meals depends on smallholder farmers who are massively impacted by climate change. This panel asks: is ESG a labeling problem, a leadership failure, or a broken system?

WHAT THIS PANEL COVERS

• Why ESG criteria remain sound but the reporting infrastructure — the plumbing — has never been properly built
• How blockchain, AI, and emerging standards like ISSB can restore trust and eliminate greenwashing
• The crushing cost of layered certifications for SMEs: one footwear manufacturer spends $150,000/year on audits across five buyers
• Environmental health as an economic argument — air pollution alone costs an estimated 6% of annual GDP according to the WHO
• Why businesses are now the most trusted institutions and why ESG is fundamentally a leadership conversation, not a compliance exercise

PANELISTS

• Dr. Oliver Krause — Managing Partner, Advantum Ventures (Moderator)
• Adrit Nath — Founder, Tech Venture for Humanitarian Development; ISSB Adviser
• Isabelle Grosmaitre — Founder & CEO, Goodness & Co; Chair, Value Balancing Alliance
• Dr. Rebecca Florsheim — Environmental Health Physician & Researcher, NYU Langone Health
• Ian Sayers — Founder, SME Planet

unDavos is a community-driven summit running during WEF week in Davos, democratizing the conversation around global challenges.

🌐 undavos.com

Tags: ESG reporting, sustainability standards, ISSB, GRI, greenwashing, corporate governance, SME financing, environmental health, microplastics, air pollution, board leadership, impact measurement, trust, business as force for good, WEF Davos 2026, smallholder farmers