Overselling Sustainability Reporting

An article in Harvard Business Review by Timberland’s former COO argues we’re confusing output with impact-

• For two decades progressive thinkers have argued that a more sustainable form of capitalism would arise if companies regularly measured and reported on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. But although such reporting has become widespread, and some firms are deriving benefits from it, environmental damage and social inequality are still growing.

• The author outlines the problems with both sustainability reporting and sustainable investing, discusses nonstandard metrics, insufficient auditing, unreliable ESG ratings, and more. But real progress, he says, requires not just better measurement and reporting practices but also changes in regulations, investment incentives, and mindsets.

Source: https://hbr.org/2021/05/overselling-sustainability-reporting#