ESG: Beyond Transparency

ESG: Beyond Transparency


I recently gave a guest lecture on ESG for the University of London's Global MBA students.

My main themes were picking up the concept that we have been moving from using CSR as a PR initiative under the control of the comms team to a compliance issue under the control of legal and financial teams. I also explored how the language of ESG, especially in the US, is increasingly contentious. (H/T Michael Maslansky ). This has hit popular culture icons such as the BBC and Disney.

The most significant aspect of this trend, however, is the extent to which the EU and the US are using ESG as a cover for protectionism and anti-globalization. Globalization has enriched the world, but the Biden administration and the EU are intent on rolling it back.

You can see my lecture here:

TECH: AI and growth

Cathie Wood: Ark Invest

Continuing the video theme, I recently watched Cathie Wood of Ark Invest give a TED Talk titled: Why AI will spark exponential economic growth.

This is a powerful and thought-provoking look at the impact of several interconnected technological revolutions, and how they massively impact productivity, thus enabling non-inflationary growth. Meanwhile, central banks are preparing to counter fears of inflation. If Wood is right, this is exactly the wrong approach.


ETHICS: Expelling a member of Congress

The House of Representatives has set a new precedent. A House member facing criminal charges who has been admonished by the Ethics Committee can be expelled from Congress. The previous precedent was that members were only expelled after felony convictions. Much as George Santos undoubtedly deserves this, it is probably an unfortunate precedent.

Senator John Fetterman (D. PA), with an admirable commitment to consistency, has said that this new precedent should apply to Democrats as well as Republicans, and has called for the ouster of Senator Bob Menendez (D. NJ). If it had been a longer-held precedent then it would not be necessary for Menendez, as he would have been expelled before his previous corruption trial, which ended in a deadlocked jury and no verdict. (Note: no one claims that Menendez was innocent of wrongdoing, just that it may have fallen outside the narrow definition of the criminal law. He was unanimously admonished for breach of ethics).

Since being admonished, Menendez has been re-elected to the Senate, and even reappointed as ranking member and then Chair of one of the most powerful committees in the Senate. That was a specific decision by his caucus leadership. They could (and should) have chosen to reset his seniority to zero, given his unethical behavior.

The nuclear option of expelling members should probably be reserved for those with serious criminal convictions. Even plea deals on misdemeanors (such as that by Jamaal Bowman) should not lead to expulsion, let alone mere indictment.


CRISIS: Disney fires Majors

Disney, which owns the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, has dismissed actor Jonathan Majors, who has been playing Kang the Conqueror, the new adversary of the franchise, and was due to appear in this role in the fifth movie of the Avengers series.

Majors has just been convicted of assault and harassment charges against his then girlfriend, though the jury acquitted on some other charges.

Disney has been praised for acting swiftly, on the day of the verdict. Since the trial has been ongoing, Disney certainly knew that there would be a verdict shortly, and it would not have been hard to agree two alternative statements well in advance. The verdict did not come out of nowhere, and there was plenty of time to prepare.

Marvel now needs to either recast the role or change the creative direction of Avengers 5, which was previously known as The Kang Dynasty. The change in title suggests that they are keeping their options open.

Action movies in particular need to be careful about promoting as stars (even portraying villains) actors with convictions for acts of violence, so the decision to fire him was probably an easy one, if potentially very expensive.

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Quentin Langley

Crisis Communications Expert | Author | Thought Leader

1 年
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