What CEOs are really saying when they lash out against ‘woke’ America
This week, when BlackRock CEO Larry Fink defended his firm’s efforts to hold companies accountable for their environmental and social impact, he included a nod to his critics who’ve accused him of forcing a liberal agenda on businesses.
“It is not a social or ideological agenda,” he wrote in his closely watched annual letter to clients. “It is not ‘woke.’ It is capitalism.”
Translation: Don’t be angered by this do-gooder approach, Wall Street — this is just what’s good for business.
To be sure, Fink, whose firm has more than $10 trillion in assets under management, isn’t wrong: Studies show that companies with strong environmental, social, and governance norms tend to perform better financially over the long term.
ESG, or socially responsible investing, is a new lens through which companies can be evaluated by assessing them on non-financial metrics, such as their impact on the environment (the “E” in ESG). The social aspect…
