ESG News

Sebi’s chairperson has drawn a hard line between compliance and governance. The problem? Indian companies have mastered the performance, not the purpose — leaving investors to decode what’s real.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must not lift the mandate for reporting corporate sustainability actions on the argument that the information is ‘political’. The truth is that it is important for a variety of stakeholders including investors and can drive long-term value generation.

If extra information adds nothing new, it is simply a costly distraction.

The company listed India’s first ESG bond on the National Stock Exchange under Sebi’s new framework earlier this week. But whether this sparks a broader trend or remains an isolated milestone hinges on a critical factor: investors' willingness to pay the “greenium”.

India must devise an ESG ecosystem that places truth over optics and the planet’s survival above compliance checklists. The business case for earnest green operations is compelling.

New framework aims to curb ‘purpose-washing’ or misrepresentation or exaggeration of the social or environmental intent behind ESG bond proceeds.

Governance failures, tighter confict-of-interest rules, court decisions, rising director liability and increasing investor activism have shifted the focus towards finely targeted board recruitment. Interviews for these roles have seen a sea change.

In the Trump era, the 2019 US Business Round Table departure from maximizing shareholder value is looking like a bad bet. Shareholder primacy is back. As for a society’s values, these are for public policy to take care of, not CEOs.

Asset manager has dropped out of climate groups and eliminated diversity targets as it tries to put ESG controversy behind it.