M&A restructuring provides an opportunity to accelerate ESG journey. During organizational restructuring post-M&A, synergy teams focus on cost and efficiency optimization, but also provide opportunities to make positive changes to the organization’s ESG footprint. ESG is now a focus area for investors, boards and CEOs. One-third of the over 3,000 large G20 companies felt under “extreme” pressure to improve their ESG performance and expected to conduct M&As with the purpose of boosting their ESG credentials and capabilities. M&As can fundamentally change the ESG footprint of an organization by restructuring activities that span its product supply chains, including material sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and delivery. This paper looks at how supply chain restructures post-merger can marry cost efficiencies with ESG score improvements to drive reputational benefits and ease regulatory pressure. There are three broad stages in any restructuring activity: planning (determining the strategic objectives and identifying the scope of the restructuring), execution (implementing the plan and managing the transition) and monitoring (assessing the impact of the restructuring and making any necessary adjustments).
