One of the largest credit rating agencies in the nation announced last week they were going to stop publishing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores of corporate borrowers.
S&P Global announced last week, “Effective immediately, we are no longer publishing new ESG credit indicators in our reports or updating outstanding ESG credit indicators.”
“The ESG virtue-signaling racket will continue to crumble, as it rejects free-market principles in favor of woke capitalism and the consolidation of economic power into fewer and fewer hands,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall told 1819 News on Wednesday when asked about the S&P Global news.
S&P Global Ratings began publishing alphanumeric ESG credit indicators for publicly rated entities in some sectors and asset classes in 2021.
By dropping the ESG ratings now, maybe S&P is saying “the ratings really are not that useful,” David F. Larcker, a professor at Stanford’s graduate school of business, told Financial Times. “Or maybe they are responding to pressure from attorneys-general and other people who are anti-ESG.”
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, advocacy for specific social movements, and commitment to "diversity, equity and inclusion" (DEI).
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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