Online Tutoring Services Industry ESG Thematic Report, 2023

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in the Online Tutoring Services Industry

Considering ESG into decision making and business strategies contributes to an effective due diligence and a better investment decision for the company as well as relevant stakeholders. Even though this segment doesn’t have ESG data disclosure as such, this market had a significant impact in various social aspects.

Online tutoring segment has been growing in recent decades alongside the development of smartphones and computers. In fact, access to education anywhere in the world with flexible time has made this segment boom even in the time of pandemic. There have been few concerns about safety for children and the companies have addressed their policies in accordance with the same. Along with this, data privacy has been a major concern for many consumers. Studies show online classes or tutoring have negative health impacts in comparison with normal classes. 

As mentioned, the COVID-19 pandemic conditions increased the utilization of online tutoring services due to lockdown and social distancing. In terms of career growth, online tutoring segments have been used as the main tool for training and development for professionals and students alike. Further, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) is a comprehensive framework that helps companies in this market obtain a perspective on the impact of their products and operations on ESG parameters.

ESG Trends

Main ESG trends lie with social aspects as mentioned, starting off with access to education (SDG 4- Quality Education) which is one of the main focal points and attractions of this segment. Anyone can avail education at any point of the world provided with the possibility of flexible hours to tuition. For both students and professionals, it has been a major source of training and development for various certification, job related training, skill development programs etc. Women and girl children also have access to these courses without any hindrances and hence these services can ensure gender equality thereby ensuring UN SDG 5: Gender Equality is attained. As a wide range of ages are involved in training, child protection and child safety policies (SDG 12- Responsible consumption and production) have been a huge concern for the consumer end. Many companies have focused on Child protection, for example one of the companies has a highly competent child safety team to ensure child safety. Data privacy policies (SDG-16 Peace, justice, and strong institutions) and consumer personal information data have been another vital area of importance, companies do disclose their intention and assurance of personal data being safe and secure.  In terms of health impact (SDG 3- Health and Wellbeing), this segment had significant negative impact, reports suggest among students around 57% of the total faced moderate stress, 32% had mild depression, 48% had mild neck pain and 41.3% had moderate back pain.

ESG Challenges

As discussed, one of the major challenges is negative health impact, statistics as per Indian journal of Physical Therapy and Research had published the above data. There is a huge population of students who experience both mental and physical strain which arises out of online tutoring mode. Health warning, cool off time or any specific software arrangement can reduce this number. Various other applications have introduced such warning systems while in run. Affordability has also been a question mark as there are paid courses which couldn’t be affordable for a certain student community. This directly questions the inclusivity and diversity of these courses, which influences UN SDGs 10: Reduced Inequalities and UN SDG 5: Gender Equality. Even though free courses and   scholarships have been provided by the online tutoring segment, there are cases where certain skill development or certification programs require investment.

Growth of the Online Tutoring Services Market

Online tutoring segment has a huge growth potential of building market cap in the future, because of the access and flexibility it provides to the users. Even though it has a negative health impact generally, it can be minimized by health and time monitoring updates. In addition to that, if courses become more affordable to underprivileged student’s community with special discounts could create a more moral value for this segment. In terms of online tutoring services market growth, 6.57 billion USD have been valued in 2021 and expected CAGR is 14.7% by 2030.

Key Companies in this theme

    • Ambow Education

    • ArborBridge

    • Beijing Magic Ears Technology Co., Ltd.

    • BYJU’S

    • Chegg, Inc.

    • Club Z! Inc.

    • iTutorGroup

    • Qkids Teacher

    • Varsity Tutors

    • Vedantu.

Scope of the Online Tutoring Services Industry ESG Thematic Report

    • Macro-economic and ESG-variable analysis of the industry, including regulatory, policy, and innovation landscape

    • Key insights on infrastructure developments and ESG issues affecting the theme

    • Identify key initiatives and challenges within the industry

    • Identify ESG leaders within the industry

    • Understand key initiatives and the impact of companies within the sector to fuel an informed decision-making process

    • Analysis of industry activities based on multi-media sources, including significant controversies and market sentiment

Key Benefits of the Online Tutoring Services Industry ESG Thematic Report

    • Developing a comprehensive understanding of macro-economic, Policies & Regulations and innovations affecting the Online Tutoring Services space, globally

    • Key insights into environmental developments and ESG issues affecting the theme

    • Identifying ESG risks and opportunities to business among leading players in the Online Tutoring Services

    • Obtaining a clear and relevant understanding of company actions, progress, and impact and find opportunities for investment into the sector