What responsible growth looks like in practice

Responsible growth brings environmental, social and people considerations into the decisions that shape how an organisation grows: how it invests, innovates, manages risk, supports its people and responds to change. Embedding that thinking can strengthen resilience, reveal new opportunities and create value for businesses, people and communities.

Across two seasons of TLT's podcast ESG in Action, we’ve heard from organisations approaching these questions from very different perspectives. Their experiences span finance, contracts, workplace culture, wellbeing, biodiversity, education and the natural world. Together, they show the value of looking at responsible growth across the business, and the opportunities that can emerge when different considerations and perspectives are brought into decision-making.  

Hosted by Alexandra Holsgrove Jones, Knowledge Partner and TLT’s ESG lead, ESG in Action brings together people from business, financial services, charities and the public sector to share their experiences and perspectives.  

Four themes run through these conversations.

1. Use the levers already available

Some of the biggest opportunities lie in the decisions organisations already make: where they invest, how they contract, what they procure and how they manage risk.

Clarissa Lambourne of The Chancery Lane Project explores the role contracts can play in managing sustainability risks and supporting climate action. Her challenge to lawyers is straightforward: “Look at what’s on your desk and ask yourself: what is the sustainability angle here?”

The same thinking can apply across a business. Looking again at established decisions and processes can reveal risks, opportunities and different routes to achieving organisational goals.  

Finance is another powerful lever. Sian Williams, Chief Risk Officer at Triodos Bank, discusses how the bank’s purpose-led approach directs money towards positive environmental, economic and social impact. Transparency is central to its approach, including publishing its loan portfolio.  

Both conversations highlight the influence organisations can exercise through the everyday choices that shape how they operate and grow.

2. Build organisational resilience through people

An organisation’s ability to grow, adapt and respond to change depends on its people.

TLT Chief People Officer Helen Hodgkinson explores the relationship between wellbeing, flexibility and organisational resilience. For her, trust is fundamental to creating an environment where people can perform: “If you do that, actually what you’ll find is your people will contribute constantly and at their best. And at the cornerstone of that is trust.”

Richard Martin, CEO of the Mindful Business Charter, looks at the causes of unnecessary workplace stress and how everyday working practices can add friction and pressure. Lottie Driver of Working Families discusses “parenting out loud”, with senior colleagues and parents speaking openly about caring responsibilities and creating space for others to do the same.  

Working practices, leadership behaviours and culture all shape people’s capacity to perform, adapt and contribute. As technology, the world of work and wider expectations continue to evolve, the human dimension of resilience becomes even more important.

3. Understand where nature creates risk and opportunity

Understanding an organisation’s relationship with the natural world can reveal risks and opportunities that may otherwise be overlooked.

Kirsty Wilman, Chief Operating Officer at Rebalance Earth, explores the idea of nature as critical infrastructure and what that perspective means for investment, risk management and long-term resilience. Her advice takes that thinking into existing business processes: examine risk registers, supply chains and resilience plans against the potential impact of more extreme events, then identify opportunities for action that support both nature and resilience.  

Henry Rossiter of Belmont Estate brings another perspective through rewilding, rewetting and biodiversity net gain, alongside programmes designed to connect people and communities with nature. The conversation also considers how investing in nature can contribute to business resilience, recruitment and colleague wellbeing.

Together, those experiences raise useful questions for organisations looking ahead.  

• Where does your business depend on nature?  
• How well do you understand that dependency?  
• And where could strengthening resilience create wider opportunity?

4. Make credible progress visible

Sharing credible progress gives others something to learn from, adapt and build on.

Helen Taylor, Trustee at the Green Britain Foundation, explores the role of education and empowerment in driving environmental and social change. She encourages people to support and amplify organisations already making a difference, helping useful ideas and examples reach wider audiences.  

Sian Williams also makes the case for continuing to communicate credible action. “Never be tempted to green hush. Speak proudly about all of the efforts that all of us are making.”  

Credibility depends on being open about progress, challenges and what is still being learnt. Sharing those experiences gives other organisations practical examples they can consider and adapt to their own circumstances.

That exchange of ideas runs throughout ESG in Action. Different organisations are tackling different challenges, and hearing how others are approaching them can open up new possibilities.

Creating opportunity through responsible growth

Across two seasons, ESG in Action has featured organisations including Nationwide Building Society, Santander, Greene King, Hymans Robertson, the Government Legal Department, SMBP and Eden Sustainable. The conversations have ranged from biodiversity, climate resilience and renewable energy to responsible investment, social mobility, workplace culture and wellbeing.  

Across that breadth of experience, responsible growth emerges as a way of thinking across the business: considering people, society and the environment alongside commercial priorities when making decisions about investment, innovation, risk and growth.

That broader perspective can reveal dependencies, risks and opportunities that might otherwise be missed, while helping organisations build the resilience to respond to change.

Season three of ESG in Action will continue to explore these themes through a new set of guests and perspectives.  

Explore the full ESG in Action series to catch up on conversations you may have missed or follow the links on the ESG in Action hub to listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.  You can also subscribe on your preferred podcast platform to hear new episodes when season three begins.

This publication is intended for general guidance and represents our understanding of the relevant law and practice as at October 2026. Specific advice should be sought for specific cases. For more information see our terms & conditions.