New essays explore myths and realities of ESG—Environmental, Social and Governance investing

VANCOUVER—Environmental, social and governance investing—ESG investing for short—is the latest movement by activists to compel businesses and persuade investors to pursue larger social goals, including environmental initiatives, by increasing financial disclosure regulations, but a new essay series by the Fraser Institute highlights the misunderstandings and simplifications of this call for a new form of capitalism. “The thrust of ESG investing—to force companies to pursue goals other than just maximizing returns to shareholders—shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how market economies work. Specifically, it misunderstands how firms pursuing profits already have to consider their communities, employees, suppliers, customers, and anyone connected with the business,” explained Steven Globerman, resident scholar at the Fraser Institute and contributing editor of ESG: Myths and Realities.