Despite its critical role in protecting people at work, ergonomics is still often overlooked in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strategies. As ESG grows in importance for investors, regulators, and customers alike, failing to invest in proactive ergonomics could be holding your business back in more ways than one.

In this article, we explore how ergonomics aligns with your ESG goals and why it might be the missing link between the business you are and the one you aspire to become.

What Is ESG?

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, a framework for assessing how responsibly and sustainably a business operates.

It has become an increasingly influential lens through which organisations are measured, particularly in the industrial and manufacturing sectors.

Each pillar focuses on a different area of business responsibility:

• Environmental: How your business impacts the planet — including emissions, resource use, and waste.
  
• Social: How your business treats people — employees, communities, customers, and supply chains.
  
• Governance: How your business is run — leadership, compliance, ethics, and transparency.

While ESG started as an investor screening tool, it has evolved into a growth-critical framework. Strong ESG performance is directly linked to reputational strength, investment opportunities, and market resilience.

Why Businesses Should Take ESG Seriously

Even if ESG reporting isn’t mandatory for your business, it’s no longer something that should be ignored. That’s because ESG performance is becoming a key factor in business growth.

According to the Confederation of British Industry, two-thirds of investors consider ESG performance before making decisions and a 2025 Finder survey revealed almost 60% of UK investors have ethical or ESG holdings in their portfolios.

This is because, with sustainability at its core, ESG compliance contributes to long-term value, ethical operations, and effective risk management. In fact, a Rothschild analysis from June 2025 clearly shows that sustainable stocks outperform traditional in the long term, showing greater resilience during economic turmoil.

‘Regulatory clarity, technological innovation, and client expectations are all converging to reinforce sustainability as a key consideration of modern portfolio construction.’

Source: Rothschileandco

But it goes deeper than investability. Unbiased.co.uk reports that 88% of consumers are more loyal to companies that support social and environmental initiatives.

Across the industrial sector, ESG performance influences:

• Access to capital – Investors and lenders increasingly favour businesses with strong ESG credentials.
  
• Customer and partner trust – ESG-aligned companies are more likely to win contracts with large corporates or public sector buyers.
  
• Talent retention and attraction – Workers want to be part of businesses that reflect their values.
• Reputation management – Poor ESG performance or inaction on social and environmental issues can damage brand perception and stakeholder confidence.

Is ESG Reporting Required by Law?

In the UK, ESG reporting is legally required for major companies — specifically those that are publicly listed, have an annual turnover over £500 million, or employ more than 500 people. For these organisations, ESG disclosures are now part of mandatory financial and sustainability reporting frameworks.

However, many other businesses, including smaller and privately held companies, aren’t legally required to report on ESG yet, though many choose to do so voluntarily as a best practice and to stay competitive.

ESG-related laws also draw on existing legislation such as the Companies Act 2006, the Modern Slavery Act 2015, and the Equality Act 2010. Additionally, mandatory climate-related disclosures have been introduced for certain firms, driven by both UK regulators and international frameworks like the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

How Your Ergonomics Programme (or Lack Thereof) Relates to ESG 

Most people associate ESG with environmental initiatives or corporate ethics. But when it comes to the “Social” part of the equation, ergonomics plays a much bigger role than many industrial leaders realise.

Ergonomics is all about making work safer, more comfortable, and more sustainable for people. In industrial settings, where employees are often doing physically demanding, repetitive, or awkward tasks, a well-designed ergonomics programme can directly support your ESG goals.

What Falls Within the Scope of ESG’s Social Pillar?

Of the three ESG pillars, the social element is often the most difficult to define, but also one of the most impactful. It’s all about how businesses treat people: their employees, suppliers, customers, and the wider community.

While the environmental and governance pillars tend to get more attention, the social aspect is rapidly gaining ground, especially as investors, partners, and customers look more closely at how companies operate on the human level.

Some of the key themes within the social pillar include:

• Employee wellbeing and working conditions – This includes everything from physical safety to fair wages, development opportunities, and a culture of respect.
  
• Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) – ESG-conscious organisations strive to create fair, inclusive workplaces, free from discrimination and built around equal access to opportunities.
  
• Community engagement – Businesses are expected to build positive relationships with the communities they operate in — whether that’s through local hiring, investment, or volunteer programmes.
  
• Human rights and ethical practices – From preventing modern slavery in supply chains to upholding basic rights at every level of the business, respecting human rights is a growing area of ESG focus.
  
• Responsible supply chain management – Companies are increasingly held accountable not just for their own actions, but for the behaviour of suppliers and partners — especially when it comes to working conditions, sustainability, and ethics.

How Ergonomics Can Help Meet Social ESG Goals

Ergonomics is often seen through a health and safety lens, but it can be a powerful tool for delivering against your social ESG commitments.

Here’s how:

1. Supporting employee wellbeing and safety

Ergonomics involves designing work to fit the worker. Whether that’s adjusting tools, processes, or physical environments, ergonomic programmes directly reduce the risk of injury and strain, particularly musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), which are among the most common workplace injuries in industrial settings.

Fewer injuries mean less downtime, reduced absenteeism, and improved employee morale. These are all clear indicators of a socially responsible organisation.

2. Demonstrating a commitment to fair working conditions

Ergonomics interventions can also reduce the disparity between different workers’ abilities, supporting accessibility, helping businesses create inclusive environments for workers of all sizes, genders, abilities, and ages. 

This aligns with EDI (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) objectives, and can directly contribute to your ESG reporting narrative.

3. Improving job satisfaction and retention

A well-designed ergonomic environment makes work more manageable and less fatiguing. That leads to higher job satisfaction, better engagement, and lower turnover, all of which are signs of a company that values its people, thereby attracting ESG-minded investors.

4. Enhancing your supply chain relationships

In high-risk sectors, ergonomic best practices can also extend into supplier audits and onboarding processes, encouraging better standards across your wider network and reducing the reputational risks of supply chain negligence.

Industrial Ergonomics Solutions from Cardinus

Cardinus offers a variety of proactive industrial ergonomics solutions that can help your business meet social responsibility goals and generate interest among ESG investors.

From a motion capture technology that works on any smartphone or tablet, to fully integrated, end-to-end industrial ergonomics management software, our services are designed to reduce injury risk, improve workplace design, and provide meaningful data for continuous improvement.

Whether you need on-site ergonomic support, scalable assessment tools, or advanced risk analytics, we help you build safer, smarter industrial environments that align with your ESG priorities.

Learn more about our industrial ergonomics solutions here – or contact Cardinus today to discuss your requirements.