A singular obsession with certain ESG metrics is taking us down a narrow and precarious path. It leads to a black and white box-ticking world where we risk exacerbating the very problems that ESG aims to solve.
In this webinar hosted by Portfolio Construction Forum, Tassos Stassopoulos argues that not much is black and white in ESG, and little can be meaningfully captured by ticking a box. The real world is more like 50 shades of grey, where we must balance doing good with the harm that our actions cause.
The focus should therefore be on some simple and straightforward principles to identify a company’s true purpose and goals, ensuring that they are aligned with investors’ intentions.
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Excellent presentation Tassos. The ESG debate is, and has to be, anything but black and white. You may have already heard these podcasts, but if even if you have I'd recommend anyone reading this to listen to the two-part podcasts on Smarter Markets with Robert Friedland - he begins by saying that we need to outline what we're trying to solve for, and then goes through the non-black and white nature of the energy sourcing component. It covers the many facets of energy production and how the answer isn't just as simple as solar and wind farms. Whilst the ethical component isn't as well articulated as your presentation and the two studies you've highlighted, it does however have a common…