Environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles continue to be relevant in an interconnected business world. Consumers and investors increasingly demand climate-conscious financial products, and fintech platforms must meet these expectations to maintain their place in a competitive market.
However, financial professionals must be genuine in their efforts to adopt ESG principles. Faking sustainability and being caught greenwashing can do irreparable damage to a business’s reputation on a national and international scale. To help, 20 Forbes Business Council members discuss how fintech platforms can embed ESG principles authentically into their core business.
1. Build ESG Into The Organization’s Foundation
Bake ESG into the foundation, not the marketing. That means offering transparent reporting, integrating sustainability into product design and aligning incentives with measurable impact. When ESG goals drive core decisions—like risk models, partnerships or investment filters—it builds trust and avoids the trap of surface-level greenwashing. – Victoria Marshall, Erase.com
2. Embed It With Purpose
Authenticity comes from action, not optics. Fintech platforms should embed ESG principles by aligning products and practices with clear values, sharing measurable progress and communicating openly. When ESG is integrated into purpose—not just compliance—it strengthens trust with both consumers and investors. – Becca Brazil, Only 1 Media PR
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3. Start On The Local Level
To embed ESG authentically, fintech platforms must localize. ESG standards vary by country and sector. Start with region-specific thresholds, then align them with your corporate social responsibility policies. Don’t treat ESG as a checkbox; instead, integrate it into product design, risk models and governance. Authentic ESG isn’t compliance-driven; it’s purpose-aligned. – Salman Khan, The Gideon Group Inc.
4. Ensure Continuous Monitoring And Adjustment
Fintech platforms can embed ESG authentically by making continuous monitoring and adjustment a core principle. Instead of treating ESG as a one-time task on their checklist, they should track evolving environmental and social impacts, update metrics regularly and transparently report progress. This ongoing process builds credibility and prevents the effort from becoming performative. – Jekaterina Beljankova, WALLACE s.r.o
5. Avoid Treating ESG As A Quick Win
Fintech platforms should stop treating ESG as a box to tick for investors. Instead, it should be woven into how the business makes money, from products and decisions to incentives. For example, a lender could offer better rates to green businesses, or a payments platform could show users its carbon footprint. ESG then stops being a cost center and becomes a flywheel where doing good drives adoption, and adoption multiplies returns. – Sima Mosbacher, HIGHSCALE AI
6. Actively Involve Leadership
Fintech platforms can embed ESG authentically by tying executive compensation and board KPIs directly to measurable climate and social outcomes. When leadership has skin in the game, ESG stops being a side initiative and becomes central to decision making. The resulting impact is increased credibility with investors, more trust with consumers and a culture that views sustainability as a strategic approach. – Michael Shribman, APS Global Partners Inc.
7. Openly Adopt ESG Principles
Fintechs must bake ESG into their DNA, not bolt it on. That means designing products where impact is inseparable from performance metrics like transparent carbon tracking, or credit models reward sustainable practices. Authenticity comes from measurable outcomes, third-party validation and aligning incentives so that doing good drives returns. When ESG is core to value creation, it stops being a PR exercise. – Richard Powell, APC Holdings, LLC
8. Focus On Making A Measurable Impact
Authentic ESG in fintech means making a measurable impact, not just going for optics. Embed ESG in core strategy, align incentives and channel capital toward low-carbon solutions. Transparency and science-based targets aren’t optional—they’re the new alpha and the next growth engine for trust, capital and innovation. – Ashish Kumar Srivastava, Revantage
9. Integrate ESG Into Product Design
Fintech platforms must bake ESG principles into product design. For example, show carbon impact or offer green investments rather than just slapping on labels. Use real data, share transparent metrics and align internal practices. When ESG is lived, not layered on, it builds trust and drives lasting value beyond compliance. – Asaad Hakeem, SARC MedIQ Inc.
10. Consider Which Features Are Important To Users
Companies should build climate features that actually matter to users. This means letting people see their carbon footprint from spending, offering green investment options that perform well, donating profits to environmental causes, and being totally transparent about what they’re doing. Make it useful, not just marketing. Success comes from solving real problems, not checking boxes. – Vikrant Shaurya, Authors On Mission
11. Turn ESG Data Into A Call To Action
Make ESG data actionable, not just reportable. Integrate real-time ESG scoring directly into your investment interface, allowing users to see the environmental impact of each transaction at the point of decision. When users see statements like, “This investment saves 2.3 tons of CO2 annually,” they can make informed choices. This transforms ESG from compliance theater into a competitive advantage through transparency. – Oleg Levitas, Pravda SEO Inc, Real Results SEO Inc.
12. Make ESG Central To The Larger Mission
Fintech platforms can embed ESG authentically by making it central to their mission. Start by looking into how ESG aligns with your long-term goals, then create a clear strategy with it embedded in. Set ambitious, meaningful long-term targets, such as carbon neutrality or responsible investing, while also defining short-term, actionable steps that show measurable progress. – Lissele Pratt, Capitalixe
13. Move Beyond Compliance
Authentic ESG means moving beyond compliance and embedding it into a company’s core purpose and relationships. Value is nurtured through customers, employees, partners and communities, so aligning products and services with their long-term well-being is key. When businesses treat ESG as a relationship strategy, they build trust that lasts with both consumers and investors. – Talbott Roche, Blackhawk Network
14. Create Value For Customers And Investors
Chasing ESG at the expense of returns is bad business. Fintech should focus on creating value for customers and investors first. If climate goals align with profit, great. The mission is performance. Real leadership is delivering strong returns, not bending to political agendas disguised as ESG. – Reid Rasner, Omnivest Financial
15. Make ESG Part Of Everyday Work
It’s important to make ESG part of your mission and daily work, even almost part of your overall culture. Run honest audits, set clear goals and report progress. Nowadays, it’s a good idea to use AI and blockchain to track carbon in real time and power green products. When you design for access, involve customers and staff, and test and improve processes, you actually get tangible results. – Asad Kausar, Dabaran Inc.
16. Leverage Personal Stories
Make ESG personal on an emotional level, not compliance-driven. Authentic ESG integration happens when customers feel emotionally connected to the impact, not when boxes are checked. Instead of generic carbon offset features, show users exactly whose lives their financial choices improve. Share statements like, “Your investment helped Maria’s solar farm power 200 homes.” Personal stories drive authentic engagement. – Archer Chiang, Giftpack
17. Integrate Impact Into Product Design
Fintechs can embed ESG authentically by going beyond just reporting to integrate impact into their product design. Provide transparent metrics, detail clear exclusions and align incentives so that sustainable choices benefit users financially. Partnering with credible organizations and engaging stakeholders ensures ESG is a lived value, not just a marketing checkbox. – Muraly Srinarayanathas, Computek College
18. Establish A Third-Party Committee With ESG Expertise
I recommend establishing an external third-party committee composed of consumers and investors with a strong awareness of ESG. Together with them, you can build an ESG framework that is both highly feasible and socially impactful. This approach will enable the creation of a wide range of climate-conscious financial products that are grounded in reality. – Karita Takahisa, UNIFY PLATFORM AG
19. Link Outcomes To Business Decisions
Authentic ESG means linking environmental and social outcomes to business decisions. Offer products that incentivize sustainable choices and track their real-world effects. This ensures ESG drives value, not just optics, and builds trust with conscious consumers and investors. – Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush
20. Deeply Embed ESG Into Every Business Asset
The strongest argument for authentic ESG is survival. Markets, regulators and consumers are all shifting toward sustainability. Fintech platforms that hardwire ESG into their products, governance and risk models will earn trust, attract capital and stay relevant. Those that treat it as PR will face both reputational and financial penalties as scrutiny tightens. – Ran Ronen, Equally AI