Here are two questions for you
What %age of major companies have ESG reporting? Answer at the bottom of the page.
And a second question.
Does this help the world in any way?
On this question, I want your feedback.
For those less familiar with this particular concept it is worth explaining. ESG standards have been put forward to encourage corporations to aspire to higher environmental, social, and governance. To gain an ESG accreditation one needs to employ a consultancy company, usually at great expense, and what follows is a program to improve standards. The whole ESG industry has been extraordinarily successful in that a significant percentage of all new portfolio investments, more than 40%, are in ESG accredited companies.
One major organization which has helped this process is BlackRock which is the biggest manager and investor of wealth in the world with more than a few trillions of dollars under management. The CEO of @Blackrock is Larry Fink who back in 2018 encouraged ESG investment and in particular he felt that one should have greater responsibility to climate change. This kickstarted the whole industry and now many investors only want to invest in shares of corporations which have undergone ESG accreditation. Mr. Fink has recently been attacked bitterly from both the right and the left. The right are saying that he is implementing woke capitalism and has no right to do so – he is trying to engineer society and this is unacceptable.
Recently the states of North Carolina and Florida had withdrawn their funds from @Blackrock based on these arguments. I think these actions are mistaken. I think a society which encourages institutions to behave more morally is laudable. Governments all around the world have laws against speedy driving , for seat belts, taxing cigarettes and the list goes on. Capitalism is not completely free and we are affected by legislation which helps build a safer and more caring society.
On the other hand the left has also criticized @Fink for not going far enough . The argument here is that ESG accreditations have not really made a great difference to corporate behaviour and most corporations have used the ESG as a form of greenwashing. Sadly it appears that on this particular issue , there is a strong argument.
With pressure from both sides , sadly @Fink has sided with his investors and not with society. Pity. We should not be overly discouraged by this development. For many who see the solution to climate change through corporate behaviour , Fink’s change in attitude is just another indication of the evils of capitalism and we are all doomed. I am more optimistic. There are good technological and policy solutions but let’s not rely on the corporate world. Good national leaders and politicians who govern , represent us, and are , hopefully, not controlled by the profit motive, are far more important in this battle against global warming.
David Waimann is VP Energy at OurCrowd Investments and executive director at five water and renewable energy tech companies. drw@ourcrowd.com
This article is part of a series of more than 20 posts discussing climate policy and technology.
#climate policy
#globalwarmingpolicy
#ESGAccreditation
#ESGandclimatechange
#larryFink
Answer.
According to a recent survey by the Governance & Accountability Institute, in 2021, approximately 90% of companies in the S&P 500 index published a sustainability report or some form of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting.
