11:FS’s Simon Taylor wrote an interesting blog post about this recently. He argued that companies should be measured based on their impact -
Let’s take an oil producer who buys lots of carbon credits. Or a tobacco company who spends a lot of profit on charity initiatives. A plastic producer who is carbon neutral. All of these companies can score well on many “ESG” measures.
Impact is more than carbon offsetting for your evil.
Impact is about what a company produces. If a company produces oil, it doesn’t matter how many carbon credits they buy, their impact on CO2 emissions is negative. If a company produces biodegradable drinks straws but doesn’t yet donate massive amounts to charity, their impact is still positive.
what do you think?