Circling to land

Companies and boards must be prepared to face the messy reality of ESG

Environment, social and governance (ESG) is all the rage these days. Companies are rushing to embrace it, investors are showcasing their green credentials and what’s more, governments are committing to meeting ever stringent targets, with a bit more seriousness, I hope, than their promise to be more fiscally prudent in future. But the ducks don’t seem to line up. Companies expect regulators to tell them what to do. Investors hope that they will be given digestible data to integrate with their stock selection. And regulators hope that if they mandate targets in line with global commitments, companies will find the