Leftist progressive groups are pushing environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) standards for companies and investments they claim will ultimately benefit society, but critics say it’s a “scam.”
ESG is a framework to create enterprise value by expanding an organization’s objectives to assess sustainability-related risks and opportunities regarding stakeholders and the environment.
However, the effectiveness of ESG solutions has been widely questioned and criticized.
Elon Musk says, “ESG is a scam.”
“Exxon is rated top ten best in world for environment, social & governance (ESG) by S&P 500, while Tesla didn’t make the list!” Musk wrote on Twitter.
“ESG is a scam. It has been weaponized by phony social justice warriors.”
American pundit John Stossel said, “Investment firm Parnassus has a fund that it claims it does good for the world by investing in companies like US Foods and Clorox, because those companies make products that help meet UN sustainability goals.”
“Blackrock’s ‘environmentally responsible’ fund still invests in oil giants Exxon and Chevron,” Stossel added.
“Their fund brags that they do good by having 2.6% more exposure to gender diverse boards. But that’s a tiny difference.”
Meanwhile, RBC has devoted an entire blog to the “benefits” of ESG.
According to one post, “Canada and the world have experienced a dramatic series of events in recent years. Unprecedented heatwaves. Once-in-a-generation floods and forest fires. And in 2022, geopolitical upheaval in Europe that’s driving energy prices to record heights. It’s a confluence of crises.”
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is also aligned with sustainable finance and its potential benefits. The WEF made a big move in the digital currency space this week with the launch of the Crypto Sustainability Coalition.
While ESG allows institutions to charge premiums, there is no conclusive data that they support healthy sustainability.
TD bank has a page devoted to its ESG accomplishments.
BlackRock Inc, the world’s largest asset manager, says its portfolio managers seek to understand how to use ESG data as a lens to identify new risks and opportunities and to build better-performing portfolios. BlackRock also says climate risk is investment risk.
BlackRock’s former CIO Tariq Fancy described ESG solutions as a “dangerous placebo that harms the public interest.”
