Society and Culture

Businesses should focus on serving customers, not boosting their woke credentials


Matthew Lesh writes for Conservative Home

Matthew Lesh, IEA Head of Public Policy, has penned an article for Conservative Home on the recent trend of businesses to focus on environmental, social and governance issues, often to the detriment of their performance.

“So much for the golden child of “stakeholder capitalism” – the notion that businesses should focus less on profit for shareholders and more on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This trendy idea has become even more prominent over the last few years, driven by those seeking to exploit the crisis for their pre-existing political ends.”

“Diminishing profit helps nobody. Executives who pursue ESG goals are often just corruptly using their shareholder’s money for self-aggrandisement. The actual owners of companies – including our pension savings and institutional savers – expect a decent return, not solving racial inequality and climate change.”

Read the full article here.



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