To be somewhat pessimistic, these pledges always struck me as being fairweather, politically motivated, and deliberately gamed. That's not to say that it's meaningless there's definitely some good work being done, it's just that I don't think that work is all that connected to the pledges.

Pledges are good. They give executives something to point to when they make short-term less-profitable decisions, and insulate them from shareholder lawsuits. Essentially then (and ESG) are a very lightweight opportunity to drive some long-term decision making into what is otherwise a relentlessly selfish and short term process.

And as the expression goes: who knows, perhaps the horse will learn how to sing.

Case in point: the work from home policies that have been largely rescinded since COVID.

They were primarily motivated by ESG scores…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental,_social,_and_gov...