Over the past several years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives took the business world by storm. The bottom line was no longer all that mattered. Customers and investors alike wanted to know how companies were tackling a host of ESG issues, from climate change to diversity, equity and inclusion.
More recently, the model has come under increasing fire. Political attacks on ESG principles combined with shaky macroeconomic conditions, a stronger push for profit over growth, and an energy crisis in Europe gave some companies cover for cutting back on their promises, especially if they weren’t entirely committed from the start.
To be clear, many companies are making great strides in cutting their carbon pollution, an effort that falls under the larger umbrella of ESG considerations. That could include using cleaner energy sources for manufacturing, more environmentally friendly packaging for consumer goods, or selecting cloud providers that strive to run the most energy-efficient data centers.
However companies approach becoming a greener organization, …
