The Latest Breaking News from ESG

Economy and Society is Ballotpedia’s weekly review of the developments in corporate activism; corporate political engagement; and the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) trends and events that characterize the growing intersection between business and politics.

An increasing number of companies are paying bonuses to executives in the pursuit of sustainability. Driven by an ever-growing focus on global issues, more than three-quarters of large, publicly traded companies in Europe and North America now use environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) metrics when determining executive bonuses.

Economy and Society is Ballotpedia’s weekly review of the developments in corporate activism; corporate political engagement; and the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) trends and events that characterize the growing intersection between business and politics.

"The backlash [against ESG] is having an effect," says Sheri Hickok, CEO of Climate Impact Partners.

Key takeaways from robust conversations about ESG and impact from our meeting in Atlanta.

ESG "means a lot of different things to different people," said Kathleen McLaughlin, EVP and chief sustainability officer at Walmart Inc.

Speaking at Fortune's Impact Initiative, GE's Roger Martella said, “We cover the topics that are part of ESG, but we don't really use those silos internally."

When companies rush to create diversity commitments, those efforts are typically not long-lasting.

They're combating a hostile environment toward ESG by focusing on their bottom line.

Major financial firms have adopted ESG to keep up with the times–but they also saw this as an opportunity to make lots of money.

Existential threats are converging–and they are a direct result of a global economic model that blossoms at the expense of the environment and society.