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This book is about building exceptional companies - ones that scale across borders, become global in reach, and impact the lives of thousands, if not millions, of people. As a founder, your influence will extend far beyond the product you’re building. With that scale comes a profound responsibility to ensure that the company you create leaves the world better than you found it. Even if your business doesn’t directly tackle ESG (environmental, social, and governance) issues, the way you build it inevitably does. From who you employ and how you lead, to the emissions you generate and the governance structures you put in place, every decision contributes to your company’s overall impact.
Starting with ESG at the early stage is great because this is when you have the opportunity to set the right foundations. With a small team and nimble operations, embedding ESG practices (whether in hiring, supply chain choices, data governance, or environmental footprint) requires relatively little effort, but creates outsized long-term value.
Moreover, there are practical reasons why ESG matters early: companies are increasingly holding their vendors and partners to ESG standards, investors are factoring ESG criteria into their decision-making, and top talent is actively seeking out responsible employers. Embedding these principles from the start prepares you for future diligence and also makes your company more attractive to partners, funders, and the people you want to hire.
The checklist
At the early stages of a startup, simply being aware of ESG and acknowledging its importance is already a meaningful step forward. It’s about integrating ESG into your decision-making process from the beginning, ensuring that each choice is made with an awareness of its broader impact. ESG doesn’t have to be the top priority in every decision, just as cost isn’t always the sole driver. But like financial considerations, it should always be part of the equation. Thinking through the ESG implications, however small, helps you build a company that’s intentional and responsible.
We’ve put together a checklist tailored specifically for the very early stages
of your company, when you’re not yet measuring your carbon footprint (that typically comes at Series A or later), hosting employee culture celebrations, or setting up formal board routines with independent directors. This early-stage ESG checklist is designed to help you lay the groundwork now, so you’re well-prepared for what comes next. You’ll find additional resources at the end of the chapter for later-stage ESG initiatives, but for now, these simple steps are a great place to start and will help you build strong, future-proof foundations.
E - Environment
Focuses on minimizing your company’s ecological footprint and integrating sustainability into all aspects of the business.
Low-impact operations:
Set the tone early with simple practices: encourage remote-first or hybrid models (which often reduce commuting), minimize printing, and avoid unnecessary swag or wasteful packaging.
Carbon footprint awareness (not perfection):
You don’t need a full audit at this stage but being mindful of where emissions are coming from (e.g. travel, shipping, office energy use) helps you spot quick wins.
Sustainable procurement:
For everything from laptops to office snacks, choose vendors who align with your values. Those using ethical sourcing, recyclable packaging, or carbon-neutral delivery. And you can opt for energy-efficient data centers and cloud services that operate on renewable energy.
S - Social
Focuses on how a startup engages with employees, customers, and the communities in which it operates, fostering inclusivity, well-being, and social responsibility.
By following the guidance in the “Hiring” chapter of this book, you’ll be setting yourself up for success. Ideally, you will have taken steps to minimize bias in your recruitment process and foster an inclusive, feedback-driven culture from the very beginning.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): build an inclusive and equitable company culture.
Keep job descriptions concise and run them through free tools to identify and eliminate bias (such as Gender Decoder).
Standardize your interview process with scorecards to ensure consistency and fairness for all applicants.
Avoid bias by hiring from diverse networks and ensuring a broad candidate pool for each role.
Use a salary grid to ensure pay equity.
Implement an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) to promote ownership and fairness.
Employee well-being: prioritize the health and happiness of your employees.
Create a supportive and safe work environment.
Offer flexibility with work hours and remote work options. Schedule regular feedback sessions with employees to improve engagement and development.
Communicate your company’s mission and purpose with your employees regularly to create a sense of belonging.
G - Governance
Focuses on transparency, ethical decision-making, and building strong management practices.
Founding team alignment = early governance:
If you have co-founders, treat your working relationship like a board: set regular check-ins, document big decisions, and agree on escalation paths for conflicts.
Create a basic decision-making framework (e.g. who leads on what, how tie-breakers work). It sounds small, but it prevents bigger issues later.
Maintain clear reporting lines and transparency in decision-making. Document key decisions, financials, and milestones so that your early investors, advisors, and employees are well-informed.
Prepare for future governance:
When the time comes to raise money or build a board, you’ll be in a much better place if you’ve already established rhythms of clear communication, documentation, and accountability.
Aim for diversity and independence as you grow your advisory or board structure, outside perspectives reduce blind spots and build credibility.
Think about data ethics:
If your startup deals with AI or large datasets, ensure that you have clear guidelines on ethical data use and that your AI models are designed to be non-biased and transparent. Address potential ethical issues early to avoid misuse.
Very early on you should think about SOC 2 and compliance such as GDPR. It might not be number one on your agenda today but awareness at that stage is important.
Implement strong data protection measures. Such as strong password prac- tices, two-factor authentication, and secure tools for communication and storage. Train your team (even if it’s just a quick onboarding doc) on how to spot phishing, manage credentials, and handle sensitive data responsibly.
To go further, we recommend exploring resources from Balderton, which provide practical guidance for scaling your ESG efforts as your company grows.