ESG: What A Difference A Year Makes -- January 10, 2024

Locator: 46510ESG.

Tag: woke.

Link here.

From the linked article:

Following years of simmering investor backlash, political pressure and legal threats over environmental, social and governance efforts, a number of business leaders are now making a conscious effort to avoid the once widely used acronym for such initiatives.

On earnings calls, many chief executives now employ new approaches. Some companies, including Coca-Cola, are rebranding corporate reports and committees, stripping ESG from titles. Advisers are coaching executives on alternative ways to describe their efforts, proposing new terms like “responsible business.” On Wall Street, meanwhile, some firms are closing once-popular ESG funds as interest fades.

The shift in messaging reflects a reality: “ESG is complicated,” said Daryl Brewster, a former Kraft Foods and Nabisco executive who now heads Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, a nonprofit of more than 200 companies focused on social impact.The movement to bake accountability into business decisions stretches back centuries; the term ESG gained momentum after the United Nations used it about 20 years ago. Over time, the effort became divisive—derided by some state officials as “woke capitalism,” and criticized by others for putting too much focus on measurement and disclosure requirements.

Many CEOs stress that they continue to follow sustainability commitments made years ago—even if they are no longer talking about them as often publicly. A December survey by the advisory firm Teneo found that about 8% of CEOs are ramping down their ESG programs; the rest are staying the course but often making changes to how they handle them.

Many leaders are more closely examining disclosures, wanting to avoid regulatory scrutiny or political criticism. In lieu of lofty pronouncements, advisers are telling CEOs to be more precise and to set goals that can be achieved. Saying as little as possible is recommended.

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The Book Page

I'm back in my Shakespeare phase. In the last couple of weeks I've focused on three Shakespeare plays:

• The Winter's Tale;
• The Tempest;
• The Merchant of Venice.

Now, for the fourth play: Measure for Measure.

 The books this week. Focus on Measure for Measure.

• William Shakespeare, Harold Bloom, editor, c. 2004.
• "Measure for Measure": The Flesh Made Word, Ronald R. MacDonald, p. 343
• Shakespeare's First Folio: Four Centuries of an Iconic Book, Emma Smith, c. 2016, from the local library, looks and feels brand new!
• Shakespeare's Guide to Italy: Retracing the Bard's Unknown travels, Richard Paul Roe, c. 2011, in personal library.

Most rewarding: I think I. have "discovered" something in The Merchant of Venice not mentioned in any of the several sources regarding the play. 

My hunch: Antonio, Bassanio, and Portio represented a threesome of sorts, though not altogether at once. My hunch: Antonio and Bassanio were more than close friends. For staging, one might consider a "Johnny Depp" as Antonio. Portia? Carey Mullilgan. Bassanio, perhaps Antonio Banderas. Or perhaps, better yet, Antonio Banderas as Antonio the merchant, and Johnny Depp as Bassanio.

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The Art Page

Snowmen.

The Norman Rockwell version, by Levi:

The Picasso version, by Judah: