Biden administration can help US gain ESG leadership

AS the newly elected Joseph Biden administration begins its task of strategising and formulating policy amid the transition from the government of President Donald Trump, there is a palpable surge of optimism within the environment, social and governance (ESG) community that a new, much awaited era is beginning.

America under Mr Trump has been out of step with the movement in ESG that has been growing with seismic force globally, even though key players within the US such as asset management giant Blackrock and the Business Roundtable recognise that force and have formally aligned with it. The hope is that their frustration - as well as that of many others within the American corporate and investment complexes - at being on a different path of travel from the national government will become a thing of the past under the new administration.

It goes without saying that a vast amount needs to be done, but the template long positioned within ESG thinking is already there: government and the private sector must work together to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, address climate change and "build back better" with the hope of an economic recovery that includes developing a new social contract, the creation of green jobs and delivering economic prosperity for all.