Most executives think their ESG programs fall short

Here’s the intro to this Reuters article:

More than half of 530 corporate executives have little or no confidence in the reliability and maturity of their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) programs, according to a global survey from corporate governance advocacy non-profit OCEG.

The report paints a dim picture of the corporate world’s perception of ESG initiatives, which vary greatly in ambition, disclosures and standards across companies and are increasingly coming under scrutiny from regulators concerned about “greenwashing”.

While 78% of the executives think that ESG efforts have an impact on a corporation’s brand and reputation, only 48% believe it affects a company’s financial outcomes, according to the survey, which was previewed with Reuters ahead of its publication on Wednesday.

Roughly 28% of the respondents said they had no confidence at all that their organizations had “mature, well-documented” ESG capabilities. Another 30% said they had minimal confidence in their companies’ ESG programs. Only 9% were highly confident.