Laragon Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, Antonio Aragon, reveals the sustainability challenges facing his company, and how Laragon navigates this area of operations.
Antonio Aragon is the co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Laragon, a Spain-based firm providing consulting and system implementation services in the areas of sustainability, HSE, compliance, and corporate risk management.
IsoMetrix and Laragon are partners and offer a combined approach of HSE expertise and technology to their customers in Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Laragon is fully certified to implement IsoMetrix’s range of integrated risk management software solutions.
With sustainability becoming an ever more crucial factor within the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) space, we asked Antonio some questions regarding sustainability challenges, and how Laragon navigates this area of operations.
Antonio, what do you consider to be the main challenges for companies in terms of sustainability?
There are multiple challenges when it comes to sustainability. First, companies are adapting their governance models to ensure that the agenda of their board and their executive team are aligned. This could take the form of new priorities regarding a variety of factors such as transparency, parity and diversity, climate change and decarbonization, security and well-being, etc.
This agenda must then be transferred to all levels and areas of the organization, implying changes in defining strategies and objectives. Also up for review would be planning and evaluating scenarios, designing action plans, prioritizing, identifying and allocating the resources needed to carry out these plans. Above all, there is the need to measure the performance, impacts and results of these initiatives. The underlying challenge is to get organizations to address these issues in a collaborative manner rather than in silos, much like how IsoMetrix’s software integrates various aspects of risk.
If organizations don’t adapt to this way of working, then the effort they make at the technical (innovation), tactical (business repositioning, pursuit of the optimal rating, etc.) or operational (efficiency improvements, process redesign, etc.) levels will not achieve the desired impact.
To manage climate change risks comprehensively for example, it is necessary to involve almost all critical company operations, and to implement control systems which allow us to measure the impact of our actions and adjust our course according to changing scenarios.
Another challenge is to promote the circular economy with collaborative initiatives between private companies and administrations, with the participation of experts and organized interest groups.
Companies of all sizes and sectors are looking for support to meet these challenges, and expect governments to act with strategic vision, agility, and dynamism.
How can organizations overcome these sustainability challenges, and how does Laragon support them?
I believe that companies face a talent management challenge to help drive change and innovation, not to mention efficiently managing the enormous financial resources needed to undertake the energy transition. Interdisciplinary skills and the ability to collaborate and build partnerships are needed more than ever.
At Laragon we focus on adding value by digitizing these processes and integrating our experience with the technological capabilities of our partners. With IsoMetrix for example, we collaborate on health, safety, and environmental (EHS) management projects which are key elements in the sustainability strategies of companies. We seek to positively affect process efficiency, risk reduction and the minimization of operational impacts.
Our technology partners are also our allies in developing a fundamental part of our mission, namely, to make technology available to everyone. This means implementing solutions tailored to the size and budget of any company, or perhaps promoting collaborative projects. Not only does this assist smaller companies, but it indirectly helps multinationals achieve more robust supply chain ecosystems, and in turn contributes to their own sustainability.
About IsoMetrix
IsoMetrix is one of the world’s leading developers of software solutions for integrated risk management. We believe that proper management of governance, risk and compliance provides powerful and wide-reaching benefits. It is good for our planet, and the people and communities we work and live with. It also leads to more profitable and resilient businesses. In helping our customers to do good, we also help them do well. With offices in the USA, Canada, Australia and South Africa, IsoMetrix is well positioned to provide international companies with support across the globe.
About Laragon
Laragon is a Spain-based consulting company, focusing on implementation and adoption of high-impact, state-of-the art technology and enhancement of Business Processes to support Corporate Sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance Strategies.
