Sundry Edition
A Biweekly Newsletter by Salt of the Earth Consulting, LLC
Vol. 5 | August 24, 2022
The Future of ESG Regulation
By Gretchen Bruinsma
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) regulation is a hot topic in the financial services industry. In the article ‘ESG: Addressing Greenwashing in Financial Services’ (linked below), author Justine Sacarello of KPMG notes, “In 2022, financial services firms expect increased scrutiny of ESG credentials from regulators, shareholders and customers, as well as other stakeholders.” The article goes on to provide insights into why greenwashing matters and what institutions can do to avoid it. We’re keeping Bloomberg Law on our radar, as earlier this month they published an ‘ESG Toolkit’ (full article linked below), designed to help members of the financial services industry prepare ESG reports and manage ESG risk.
There’s no lack of controversy when it comes to ESG regulation. The article ‘Artificial Intelligence Use Poses an ESG Headache for Global Financial Industry’ (linked below) calls attention to the fact that while artificial intelligence (AI) is being utilized to aid ESG regulation, the “[p]otential problems for financial services firms using AI lurk beneath all three columns of E, S and G, however. The carbon footprint from storing and processing data is enormous and growing, algorithms have already been shown to discriminate against certain groups in the population, and a lack of technology skills in both senior management ranks and the general workforce leave firms vulnerable to mistakes.” Additionally, the latest episode of Investopedia’s podcast ‘The Green Investor’ (linked below) includes an “explosive interview” with Tariq Fancy, “one of the top former leaders of sustainability investing in the industry who dropped it all, dropped out and dropped a multipart essay on why the sustainable investing industry is a fraud.”
Salt of the Earth is a boutique consulting group that offers bespoke solutions and quality advice to people, companies and associations. While we strive to keep our finger on the pulse of all aspects of the financial services industry, you can read about the specific services we offer Here. Our mission is to be a trusted and beneficial partner within our community, so if your needs are outside of our areas of expertise we will be happy to connect you with an industry professional or one of our partnering consulting groups that may be a better fit. Feel free to contact us Here.
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What We’re Listening To…
“On this week’s show, don’t call it a comeback—at least not yet—but renewable energy stocks and ETFs are on the move up and to the right.”
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