In “The Latest Dirty Word in Corporate America: ESG,” the WSJ reported on the trend toward companies avoiding the ESG acronym in favor of other terms (such as sustainability or corporate responsibility) or focusing on key discrete corporate initiatives, such as climate or diversity, and/or changing their practices as to where and how they talk about ESG. Based on the most recent FactSet data, ESG mentions on S&P 500 earnings calls declined from a peak of more than 150 companies in 2021 to 61 companies as of the second quarter of 2023.
The article provides examples of how some companies have modified their messaging, including Coca-Cola, which retitled its “Business & ESG” report to its “Business and Sustainability report” and changed its board committees to—among other things—replace the ESG terminology with “sustainability.”
The anecdotes and examples in the article may assist companies in reevaluating and refining their messaging.