JB Beckett: Why Ukraine crisis is creating a migraine for ESG

A 'red line' is challenging

Many of us on various boards and committees are looking upon events in Ukraine with aghast. As humans, on a personal level, we can easily feel that emotional response. For the ESG agenda, these events also pose a real headache for the average responsible policy.

Simply put, as an industry, western markets have financed Russia directly and indirectly for years. We integrated Russia into our economies on a naive neo-liberal notion of capitalism = peace = profit. It has allowed Putin to manipulate capitalism towards his militarised and economic position today. With it Putin's ability to impose upon, misstep NATO and to destabilise the region and beyond becomes possible.  These events do not happen randomly, they occur over time. In this case, broadly since after the Long-Term Capital Management crash of 1998 and Putin's succession to presidency in ...