First, we need to know what ESG is all about? Why is it relevant to understand the significance of being an ESG-Compliant entity? Does it have any metrics to comply with? If yes, what do they measure? And how good are they when it comes to measuring social responsibility? Where do they fall short? These are some of the questions I ask myself in order to understand deeply the relevance of ESG.
Based on my research, ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance. Under E for environmental, it’s like a general kind of environmental behavior like water usage, waste production etc. It’s also like looking after the environment around them and assess how efficient they are at managing their resources. Under S for Social, it tells us how well do they treat their clients, workers and some aspects to diversify the workforce around the management. And then under G for Governance, how well run is the company; I mean around share class structures or voting rights and government structure within the company. When these metrics are put all together, what we are looking at is somehow related to another way of assessing a company without looking at their statement of financial condition or balance sheet. Instead, we are looking at a much broader society at large. Meaning, a system of organization and institution providing protection, security and stability for its members.
I think ESG are good in determining how well a particular company is doing compared to others. In looking at the overall mission of ESG to a certain company in terms of doing good is quite exemplary, however, if it’s less good, it kind of falls a little bit short in terms of its framework or structure. I mean, there has to be some degree of compromise around how that ESG framework is actually going to be applied. For example, lots of people have different views around what is more important just like different heads have different ideas, right? Some will say and argue that Environmental is more important, others will say it’s Social and for others it’s Governance. As long as there are many people inside the room, there are going to be different opinion as to what actually is important. Unless you build a modified portfolio for someone in a separately managed account, cooperation is needed for this ESG framework to be realistic.
Now that we have a little bit of a background of what ESG is all about, we will move to our main topic which is, “Why Telos is considered to be the most ESG Compliant Blockchain?” Telos is a truly decentralized network operated by a strong community of visionaries, technologists, builders, trail blazers and active stakeholders. When it comes to Environmental, Social and Governance or ESG is concern, business practices if not seen, may pose a potential risk not only to the environment but to the community and its people as a whole. Since Bitcoin’s conception and now fast forward to a mushroom-like growth of Cryptocurrency sector, many if not all have been calling for ESG solutions to create remedy to any high energy-consuming industry jeopardizing the environment.
Decentralization in general can be categorized in many aspects and could mean a number of things; such as infrastructure, governance, software development and even equal distribution of token. Any business entity in the Crypto-Space can be called decentralized or can even claim more decentralized than others because there is no such thing as absolute measure of decentralization. Like for example, some might call Bitcoin as very centralized because some companies are effectively controlling the Bitcoin network to a much larger extent. Also, the lack of governance structure within the protocol and relatively low level of decentralization for miners. Telos decentralization lies in its governance where the decision about future developments are distributed amongst the voting power of the community or the people’s consensus. The rights of the community are exercised in decentralized manner with independent governance deciding on major concerns. Telos is proud that we scored highly in governance.
Now, let us talk about environmental consciousness on Telos Ecosystem. We have heard this Eco-Friendly term over and over and we just can’t simply ignore it. A lot of civic groups and environmental organizations are pushing for a greener environment in terms of technological advancement. Unlike Bitcoin and other industry who uses Proof of Work, Telos is determined and committed to follow through on energy efficient mechanism that is sustainable with powerful energy yet not harmful to mother Earth. Telos is not just for talks but we walk the talk. For example, Telos consumes significantly less energy than others with as little as 0.00001 kilowatt-hours per transaction while others consume as much as 104 kilowatt-hours per transaction. One of the many ways that Telos is committed to supporting environmental concerns is low energy consumption. Power is not compromised albeit its low energy usage in the Telos EVM. If we say we are the greenest Blockchain, we stand by it and will never back down on our words because we truly are the greenest Blockchain ever.
Lastly, businesses or industries who are Socially Responsible to their clients, workers, etc. are most likely to last. And this phenomenon is proven correct by most ESG clients and hopefully will be utilized in the Crypto-space to help the society in general. According to Paul Walton, Telos CMO, Social responsibility means being courteous and treating others the way you wanted to be treated. He has his own fair share of unpleasant experience on Social Media. I couldn’t agree more because I myself had a distressing experience on Social Media where people whom you don’t know personally will attack you as if they knew you since birth. Same in our industry where Social Media platforms are significant tools for engagement and marketing purposes. I should know Telos is on the right track and Socially Conscious in treating its community, leaders, workers, etc. because one way or another, I am a part of it.
Finally, a question was thrown during “A talk with Telos CMO” and I am compelled to answer. The question is, “How can I be socially responsible community member here in Telos?”
Being socially responsible is really huge if we talk about doing good to others, environment and business. I believe it should start within myself first because how can I be a good example or role model to others if I am one of the reasons why the community is falling apart. It is more polite to disagree on something on a well-mannered discussions compared to mocking and short-sighted arguments. Nothing can be solved if both parties clashes in between arguments without respect. This is applicable not only on Social Media but to each and every workplaces around the world. I still believe in human compassion and philosophy though slightly tarnished yet thriving as a peace-loving human spirit.