Engagement vs Divestment: Stepped approach is crucial for ESG impact

'Engagement toolkit'

The meaning of “ESG”, “Sustainability” and “Impact”, and the roles they (should) play in steering the world towards a greener, more socially conscientious future, are becoming increasingly politicised.

What has stood out to me is the polarised debate of Engagement versus Divestment, as if the two approaches to holding public companies to account are (or should be) binary. Divestment (or at least the threat thereof) is an integral part of an effective "engagement toolkit", to be used when all other forms of leverage have failed. French regulator to ban fossil fuels from Article 9 funds in landmark move So, what is an effective "engagement toolkit"? First, let us start with the problem. If a public company persistently refuses to engage, provide the requested transparency and...