MONTGOMERY — According to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, the environmental, social governance (ESG) movement is an effort to take control of companies and change policy through access to capital.
ESG scoring evaluates how a corporation aligns itself with social goals beyond earning a profit for its shareholders. These goals often pertain to environmental sustainability and advocacy for specific social movements, and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Marshall said at a meeting of the Alabama Associated General Contractors in Montgomery on Wednesday the ESG movement wasn't science-based.
"This fight around ESG, got to pay attention to that. It's really an effort to change policy not through the ballot box but through access to capital and pressure on corporations. When Exxon Mobil has to take on three board members who don't believe in fossil fuels, I don't know how that's going to work. I just don't," Marshall said. "That was an effort by the left through ESG principles to take over obviously a company and do something totally different. Now, do we need to be taking care of our environment? Absolutely, but do we need to allow an agenda that's driven by people that aren't regulators nor are they science-based? Absolutely not."
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