CCLA's James Corah: Unravelling the ESG identity crisis to put sustainable investing back on track

'Eventually people will discover the truth'

It does not seem to matter which publication you read nowadays, you will find numerous articles attacking ESG investing.

While the term has become politicised in some parts of the world, I think it is true that the sustainability sector has had an identity crisis. In many respects, it has pretended to be something that it is not. In the sectors' search for mainstream adoption, it could be argued ESG has appeared to be all about boosting short-term financial returns. Sustainable investing continues to confuse investors despite FCA labels Its main focus became about financial materiality and it became ‘cool by association' because it got to talk the normal language of investment. This approach worke...