Concerns that public policy and regulation have been ineffective in addressing climate change and similar challenges have led to a search for possible solutions in financial markets. Investor activism promoting socially responsible corporate practices, the rise in environmental and social …

Voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) enable firms to offset their emissions by purchasing and retiring carbon-offset credits issued by third-party project developers. As nations and corporations increasingly commit to combating climate change, VCMs have emerged as a tool to support global …

As consumers demand protections for the environment, corporations increasingly tout their sustainability efforts. Yet, economic indicators demonstrate that those efforts are mostly talk. Research and development on greener products and processes remains remarkably low, at about 4 percent of global …

Most businesses follow an explicit or implicit code of conduct that guides their operations, their relations with the public, and their treatment of customers, employees, and other stakeholders. These rules often go beyond what is legally required, and businesses often …

After several years of dramatic growth, ESG investing seems to have entered a period of retrenchment.  While it is impossible to predict the future trajectory of ESG, the movement has revealed important structural features of our financial system and the …

Proponents of ESG have recently had to contend with several developments that, at first blush, appear inconvenient. Investor support for ESG-focused shareholder proposals seems to have declined year-on-year, and some investors have abandoned ESG-themed funds while others have withdrawn from …

Should Coca-Cola do more to protect abortion rights?[1] Should Mastercard track gun purchases?[2] Should Disney’s workplace DEI trainings be more sensitive to conservative perspectives?[3] More importantly, should an activist holding only a nominal stake in any of …

In recent years, regulators and other proponents of greater corporate attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors have treated boards of directors as, in effect, supplying ESG, making the decisions that take ESG into account. Yet there are obvious …

The intersection of business and sustainability has undergone a transformative shift in recent years. Once relegated to the periphery of corporate consciousness, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are now at the forefront of companies’ strategic considerations. Yet they raise …

Over the last decade, investors and other stakeholders have demonstrated a preference for firms that embrace good environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices. It is natural, therefore for firms to try to improve their ESG profiles through ESG disclosures. The …

The convergence of environmental urgency and the rising power of “universal owners” – asset managers with broad-based portfolios, such as BlackRock – has kindled the hope among academics and activists that universal owners will leverage their power to push companies …