I’m a cautious advocate for ESG. Cautious not because I don’t believe in the basic principles, but mostly because ESG became widely adopted during an upcycle when resources could be dedicated to a relatively new business segment. During a year full of crisis management, ESG is still at the forefront of discussions, with many managers we work with pointing to ESG specifically as a differentiator in navigating 2020 effectively. Furthermore, in this publication and during our weekly i3 Virtual Roundtables, we continue to see ESG conversations evolving from the basics of, What is ESG? to, How do we weave ESG into our investment committee discussions and asset management?

Despite this positive trend for ESG, we continue to hear concerns from a variety of professionals. From skeptical investors struggling to regularly see “hard numbers” they can evaluate to ESG experts voicing concerns about firms strictly using ESG as a marketing gimmick — all water down ESG bes