What Would the Planet Think? Reflections from the Care Talk ESG Roundtable

In April, I had the privilege of joining a roundtable at the Supreme Court in London for a conversation our sector has needed for a long time. The subject was ESG in social care, and the title told you exactly where we need to head: from compliance to culture.

The report from that discussion has now been published, and I would encourage everyone working in or alongside social care to read it. Chaired by Martin Green OBE of Care England, the panel brought together providers, charity leaders, technologists, and people who draw on care and support. What struck me most was how quickly the room agreed on one thing: ESG cannot be a box we tick. It has to be the way we think.

ESG is not just the ‘E’

When people hear ESG, they tend to jump straight to the environmental pillar. Energy use, waste, carbon. It is the easiest part to measure, so it gets the attention. But the social and governance pillars are where social care lives or dies. Fair pay, dignity, anti-racism, tackling the cost-of-living pressures that push brilliant care workers out of the sector. As the report puts it plainly, you cannot call a service sustainable if the people delivering and receiving care are not valued, listened to, and supported.

That tension came up again and again. There is a real moral disconnect when an organisation invests in a shiny sustainability project while its staff sit on minimum wage. We have to do both, and we have to be honest about the order of priorities.

The workforce is the foundation

If there was a single thread running through the whole conversation, it was this. Care work is skilled, complex, relational, mission-led work, and the language we use about it has to catch up. Phrases like “unskilled carers” and “managing demand” do quiet damage. They shape how the public values the sector, and they shape how the workforce values itself.

Co-production was the answer the panel kept returning to. Not consulting people who draw on care, but genuinely sharing power with them and with their families and unpaid carers. Measuring dignity, respect, belonging, and relationships, not just KPIs.

Why this conversation matters to me

At Grace Cares, the question I find myself asking before almost every decision is a simple one: what would the planet think about this choice that we are making? It is the line I shared at the roundtable, and it is the line that sits behind everything we do.

Our whole model is built on the report’s recommendations before I ever read them. We rescue, refurbish, and redistribute large bulky care equipment that would otherwise go to landfill, and we sell it on at no more than half the original retail price. The proceeds fund free community programmes for unpaid caregivers and older people. That is the circular economy in practice, and it is proof of one of the report’s clearest findings: many of the highest-value changes are also the lowest cost. You do not need large-scale reform to start. You need to look honestly at everyday practice and embed better choices into routine decisions.

From compliance to culture

The most encouraging part of the day was the agreement that change does not have to be daunting. Small, consistent actions create real long-term impact. Recognising and building on the good work providers and staff are already doing is where momentum comes from.

ESG, done properly, is not another obligation landing on an already stretched sector. It is a pathway to a more compassionate, more sustainable, and fairer system. One defined not by efficiency alone, but by dignity, respect, and the quality of human relationships at its heart.

You can read the full Care Talk report, “ESG in Social Care: From Compliance to Culture,” and download the PDF here: https://www.caretalk.co.uk/roundtable-discussion-esg-in-social-care-from-compliance-to-culture/ 

If your organisation is thinking about where to start, I am always happy to talk. Sometimes the first quick win is just asking a better question.

Hannah Montgomery is co-founder of Grace Cares 11.11 CIC and a panellist at the Care Talk ESG roundtable, held at the Supreme Court in April 2026.