This General ESG Guide provides a condensed yet robust account of how the Environmental, Social and Governance standards are to be understood and interpreted by companies of all sizes and forms, placing emphasis on how investors use ESG information to measure the company’s positioning in the market. The EU Basic Regulation which includes the Non-Financial Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, is accounted for in the Guide, providing details on how disclosures are to be undertaken, what is required to be disclosed and what reporting standards are to be followed. Emphasis is also placed on elaborating on the importance of non-listed companies complying with ESG standards in today’s era with the European Financial Advisory Group already in the process of developing proportionate standards to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive for listed SMEs and voluntary standards for non-listed SMEs. The Guide provides a useful checklist of the reasons behind why taking action on ESG is important by expanding on topics such as supply chain, raising finance, the ‘going public’ option, EU Regulatory changes, commercial longevity, consumer-centred approach and spurring innovation. It also provides a detailed toolkit guidance to companies of how to integrate ESG in the company’s DNA by advising on a specific course of actions, including but not limited to how to engage with key stakeholders, how to gather data relevant to ESG reporting and which sustainability reporting frameworks to choose from.