What Is ESG and How Does It Work?

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Firms that disclose a lot tend to do quite well in ESG frameworks, even though that might not correspond to their actual kind of impact on the real world. Tesla is an interesting example in this respect because they were booted off the S&P 500 in that I think in May of this year. And so it really shows us like you know gives us an insight into what ESG actually is and the problems with it.

Paris Marx is joined by Adrienne Buller to discuss how the tech and finance industries are selling us false solutions to the climate crisis that are designed for their own benefit.

Adrienne Buller is the Director of Research at Common Wealth and the author of The Value of a Whale: On the Illusions of Green Capitalism. Follow Adrienne on Twitter at @adribuller.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

Adrienne originally wrote about the problem with the finance industry’s approach to climate change for Novara Media. She recently wrote about the failure of green capitalism for the Guardian and the power BlackRock wields for Jacobin.
Common Wealth recently produced a report on Asset Management Capitalism.
Elon Musk called ESG a scam after Tesla was booted from the S&P 500’s ESG fund.
Ulrich Brand and Markus Wissen wrote The Imperial Mode of Living: Everyday Life and the Ecological Crisis of Capitalism.

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