When the ESG encountered Communication (and discovered that it could not live without it)

There is something curious in the corporate world: everyone talks about ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG: Environmental, Social and Governance) as if it were a mystical being that appears at dawn, audits emissions, reviews inclusion policies and leaves an impeccable report on the desk.

I wish it was that easy.

But no.

The reality is less glamorous: ESG needs communication and knowledge management so as not to die in the attempt. Because yes, you can have solar plants, wellness programs and impeccable governance policies... but if no one knows what they mean, how they work or why they matter, they remain archived in the same folder where the PDFs sleep that no one opens.

The truth is uncomfortable: without communication there is no ESG. And without knowledge management, less.

Let's think about this. A company says: "We are committed to communities." Good. Now... where are the real stories? Where is the data that shows that this commitment exists? Who documented what was learned, who explained it, who connected the dots? Nobody wants to read a report full of adjectives. They want clarity, evidence and humanity.

That's where communication comes in: the official translator between what happens and what is understood. And knowledge management: the institutional memory that prevents everything from depending on a lost email or the person who resigned yesterday.

The most ironic thing is that people still think that ESG is only for technical specialists. No. ESG is a narrative. A way to show how an organization acts in the world. If that narrative is poorly told or poorly documented, it crumbles. If it is well counted, it moves resources, trust and reputation.

That's why this relationship is so simple and so inevitable: ESG needs data to be credible, and it needs stories to be human. Communication puts its face. Knowledge management arms the skeleton. ESG hangs on to the result and says: "I did it."

If ESG were a person, I would hire a communicator and a knowledge manager the next day.