Morning session A: ESG – Just a fad, or here to stay?

ESG, standing for Environmental, social, and governance, has become the buzzword of the last few years. From the perspective of ESG conscious investors, it’s about investing companies who believe what you believe. But for companies the challenges are far broader. Can companies successfully integrate the requirements of ESG investors square with the company’s core business? To what extent is ESG just a marketing gimmick?
Moreover, ESG demands are not just be driven by socially conscious capital, but increasingly by younger, politically conscious, staff. In the United States in particular, businesses are competing with each other with public displays of support for the social justice movements preferred by their staff.

Yet there has also been a backlash. Some consumers have boycotted brands whose prominent ESG policies have struck the wrong note. The loss of pluralism has turned off some: businesses publicly backing controversial political causes risks turning off as many people as it attracts. Others may feel they are being railroaded into compromising either their values or their core mission delivering solid financial returns for investors.

What then should we make of ESG? A force for good, or more force than good?