ESG has outgrown a single label – but we’re stuck with it

Increasing concerns about greenwashing within ESG have led to suggestions that the term should scrapped or have its definition significantly narrowed. However, the world is complex, and aspirations around covering environmental, social and governance issues won’t benefit from ignoring that complexity, leading rather to short-term gain but long-term pain.

By Blake Goud, CEO, RFI Foundation

ESG is facing a crisis of confidence driven by marketeers ‘hijacking’ it and conflating ESG & impact.The backlash against over-promising & under-delivering has provoked a search for narrower, more limited definitions to redefine and replace ‘ESG’.Replacing or restricting ‘ESG’ offers appealing simplicity but creates...