What the ESG backlash gets wrong

Richard Samans face

By Rick Samans

Properly conceived and rigorously implemented, it is about nothing more or less than good corporate governance, i.e., the core fiduciary responsibility of boards to cultivate their enterprise’s value creation.

During Davos 2022 I published an essay: The Big Fallacy in the ESG and Stakeholder Capitalism Backlash. Read it here.

Three key points:

  • Critics of ESG and stakeholder capitalism underestimate their growing importance for firm financial performance.
  • Stewardship of intangible assets, including particularly people and data, matters more than ever for value creation.
  • Walking the talk of stakeholder capitalism requires systematic ESG integration in boards, strategy and reporting.

Hashtags: #esg #esginvesting #esgreporting #stakeholdercapitalism #climateaction #inequality #corporategovernance #worldeconomicforum #sustainabledevelopment