What to talk about when you don’t talk about ESG
July 05, 2023
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Highly charged political arguments over whether environmental, social and governance issues have a legitimate place in business decisions have put many chief executives, chief sustainability officers and other C-suite champions on the defensive.
Exhibit A: During remarks at the Aspen Ideas Festival in late June, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said he outright avoids using the acronym: “I don’t use the word ESG any more, because it’s been entirely weaponized … by the far left and weaponized by the far right.”
But that doesn’t mean BlackRock will ignore issues such as a portfolio company’s exposure to climate-fueled floods or extreme weather events, human rights issues in supply chains, stranded assets and other business risks, Fink said during the same conference. It will just discuss them in different language.
