ESG is one of those terms that arrives in a boardroom as an acronym and leaves a question: what does this mean for us, and why are we being asked about it now? In the UAE, no blanket ESG mandate currently applies to most private businesses. Yet companies across sectors are finding ESG criteria embedded in financing processes, supply chain qualification, and investor due diligence — often before they have begun any formal ESG preparation. The Federal Decree-Law No. (11) of 2024 on the Reduction of Climate Change Effects formalizes a direction of travel that was already shaping commercial reality. The law is not a starting gun. The race has been under way for some time.