Is One Set of ESG Standards Coming Soon?
Jan 29, 2021
The announcement at this week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) that sixty-one global companies, which together generate revenue totaling $4.3 trillion and employ 7 million people, have agreed to implement WEF’s common environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics for stakeholder capitalism is further proof that the aspiration for a single set of ESG standards for business reporting is moving fast.
The confusion, lack of consistency and comparability in existing sustainability reporting has long been felt, with the oft-used phrase “alphabet soup” marking the debate amongst companies and investors alike.
It is important not just to describe these developments, but to understand why the speed is accelerating and to harness this for what happens next.