Would “reframing” ESG restore its appeal?
In this Comment from a Reuters magazine, the author attempts to rescue the underlying environmental, social and governance principles from the often disparaged term, “ESG.” ESG, he observes, was “[o]riginally conceived as a financial tool to frame how corporations disclose their impact and investment,” but has now become a term that is “fraught with debate, lacks a clear definition and is often misunderstood.” However, he contends, people actually associate many of the values and concepts underlying ESG with business success. Perhaps the term should be retired, he suggests, in favor of something less freighted. “Responsible business” might do the trick—especially “responsible business” that correlates with positive corporate performance. In some circles, particularly conservative circles, the author observes, ESG has become almost synonymous with “woke capitalism”—a perspective that a “growing segment of American voters” rejects: those hostile to ESG and “seeking to influe...