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facility to displace diesel, or a renewables-plus-storage scheme to stabilise a thin grid.
The social upside might be compelling: jobs, training, local content, and community health programmes.
However, if unclear titles hinder land acquisition, if permits are opaque or auctioned by queue, if offtake contracts hinge on political cycles, or if payments are delayed through state-owned buyers, the economics break down.
In those settings, front-loading“ E” spending can paradoxically reduce the probability that the project
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reaches financial close or survives a downturn.
Governance first is not about Governance instead of the environment- it is about Governance to enable environmental and social outcomes.
The“ S” before“ E” matters, too. In much of the Global South, social deficits are binding constraints: living wages that keep pace with inflation, occupational safety( especially in construction and logistics), the eradication of human trafficking and modern slavery in supply chains, and fair resettlement when land is converted to public use.
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These are not mere compliance boxes; they are the basis for legitimacy. A firm that nails emissions accounting but misses wage theft or labour coercion invites backlash, lawsuits, and shutdowns.
By placing“ Social” second- right after Governance- GSE says,“ First build a trustworthy system, then protect people within it, and only then drive down emissions with staying power.”
GSE also reduces capital friction. International lenders and strategic partners price sovereign and project risk.
A jurisdiction with clear dispute mechanism systems, beneficial-ownership registries, open contracting, independent regulators, and Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative( EITI) style transparency can shave hundreds of basis points off financing costs.
Such savings can fund better environmental controls, community benefits, and grid upgrades. In contrast, pursuing marquee net-zero commitments without a robust Governance and social foundation often yields stranded pilot projects, litigation, and populist pushback.
Therefore, the case for GSE is a pragmatic approach for long-term success. Let“ G” lock in the rules of the game; let“ S” enable dignity amongst the community around all our organisations, allowing“ E” to advance faster, cheaper, and demonstrate tangible results.
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ESG, at its best, helps business leaders see beyond quarterly profit and value properly the long-term fundamentals of the organisation. However, its default ordering reflects the assumptions of capital-rich, institutionally mature economies, which we might project as the“ Northern” context.
In many southern economies, the bottlenecks are different. The decisive variables are not exclusively carbon curves; they are state financial capacity, procedural justice without fear or favour, labour dignity, and predictable rules.
Place those first, and emissions reductions become achievable rather than aspirational.
This is not an argument to downgrade the environment. It is an argument to sequence it in its probably rightful place. If Governance builds trust and lowers the cost of capital, and if social protections build legitimacy, stability and community pride, then the environmental agenda can scale from pilots to profits.
GSE is, therefore, not a rival ideology but a review and retooling of ESG, rendering it effective for the geographies where most of the world’ s population is currently dwelling and where most of tomorrow’ s energy, housing, and infrastructure will be built.
In practice, a GSE playbook is simple to articulate and hard to fake.
Public registers of company ownership; competitive e-procurement; independent grid and market regulators; enforceable labour rights and fair living-wage pathways; community benefit-sharing with transparent grievance mechanisms; and then, on that platform, aggressive decarbonisation- clean power, efficient buildings, low-leakage gas systems, electrified transport, and credible carbon accounting.
ESG speaks with a northern vocal accent. GSE speaks with a southern melodic cadence. The destination is a place called prosperity within planetary limits and boundaries.
However, if we want more countries to reach the finish line on time, we should start the journey with goals that all, both north and south, can realistically achieve.
With Governance at the fore, we then secure our fellow travellers with appropriate Social protection, propelling all of us faster on the Environmental road- with less stalling, fewer detours, and greater staying power.- @ green
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