Time for more professionalism in the ‘S’ of ESG

WHEN discussions turn to environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) matters in the context of investments, it is the “E” part that gets an outsized portion of the attention.

In a world now concerned about the fallout from climate change (the “E”), and how businesses can get on the right side of laws enacted (the “G”), the “S” of the equation is the forgotten middle child.

The numbers hint at the imbalance. ESG-linked bonds have developed into a market worth more than US$778 billion annually as at end-2023. Social bonds represented about US$131 billion of that total, according to data from the International Capital Market Association.