Story Highlights
- Public awareness of ESG has not increased over the past two years
- Most Republicans and Democrats still say they don’t know him.
- Americans are divided on the value of promoting ESG in business and investing
WASHINGTON, DC — Efforts to promote the adoption of the environmental, social and governance framework in investing, commonly referred to as ESG, have gained momentum in recent years and have been the subject of both pro- and anti-investment legislation. -ESG, but the general public is not concerned. more familiar with ESG today than two years ago.
Thirty-seven percent of Americans currently say they are “very” or “somewhat familiar” with ESG, unchanged from 36% in 2021. Today, an additional 22% are “not very familiar,” while 40% are “not at all familiar”.
###Integratable###
These findings come from a Gallup poll conducted April 3-25, in which respondents were told that ESG “includes factors such as a company’s record on human rights, environmental , diversity or other social values” and that some people take these factors “into account”. taken into account when making decisions regarding the purchase of products and services or investment.
Most have no opinion on the ESG movement
Highlighting the public’s lack of familiarity with ESG, nearly six in 10 Americans (59%) chose the “no opinion” option when asked if they see “the movement to promote the use of factors environmental, social and governance, or ESG, in business.” and invest” as a positive or negative development. The remaining four in 10 are roughly evenly split between having a positive (22%) and negative (19%) view of the practice.
While adults who are familiar with ESG are more likely to express an opinion on it than those who are less familiar with it, they are just as likely to be divided on the issue: 36% view ESG positively and 35% negatively.
Similarly, adults who say they own stocks, about six in ten respondents in the current survey, are more likely to have an opinion on ESG than non-shareholders, but they are just as divided on the merits promoting ESG in business and investments.
###Integratable###
Americans are slightly opposed to considering ESG in investment decisions
When asked whether pension fund managers should only consider financial factors when making investment decisions or also consider ESG factors, the public leans towards the former (48% vs. 48%, respectively). 41%). Shareholder opinions on this are almost identical to national averages.
Adults familiar with ESG are very divided on the issue, with 50% preferring that fund managers limit their investment criteria to financial factors while 46% want ESG factors to be taken into account. Those unfamiliar with ESG are more likely to consider only financial factors, but are also more likely to have no opinion on the issue.
###Integratable###
Proponents have different views on ESG, but neither group is paying attention to the issue
The adoption of ESG principles has been encouraged by the Biden administration as well as the Business Roundtable (a major US business lobby), the United Nations and other leading organizations in the US and around the world. Executives and companies adopting ESG in their investments have embraced it as a way to minimize investment risks while promoting social goods. Yet critics on the political right denounce it as a system designed to achieve progressive goals at the expense of shareholders, and have advanced anti-ESG laws in many states.
While this political context is evident in the Gallup data, it does not appear to be a driving factor in public interest or opinion toward ESG.
- There is no difference between Republicans and Democrats’ familiarity with the ESG, with just under four in 10 in each group saying they are very or somewhat familiar with it and an equal proportion do not don’t know it at all.
- Additionally, awareness of ESG has not increased much among either group since 2021, when 33% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats said they were very or somewhat familiar with them.
- Republicans are much more likely to have a negative than positive view of ESG, while the opposite is true for Democrats, but majorities in both groups say they are unsure.
- It is only when asked to choose between two investment methods – with or without taking into account ESG criteria – that majorities of Republicans and Democrats take opposite sides. Sixty-four percent of Republicans think fund managers should consider only financial factors when choosing investments, while 59% of Democrats think they should include ESG.
###Integratable###
Conclusion
ESG advocates are actively working to make ESG scores a standard part of corporate fiduciary reporting so that consumers and investors can make informed decisions about who to do business with. Meanwhile, Republicans have stepped up their opposition to the move, both vocally and politically, passing laws to prevent state governments from investing in funds using certain ESG criteria.
As a Harvard Law School publication recently noted: “When it comes to ESG in the United States, one of the most dramatic developments is an ideological battle playing out at the state level, pitting state governments against each other. liberal-leaning governments that have embraced ESG-focused investing from conservative governments. states led by states that would seek to exclude it.
Yet public opinion reflects little of this political battle, with most Republicans and Democrats largely unfamiliar with ESG and expressing “no opinion” on whether it is a good or bad thing. , when offered this option. Certainly, the underlying leanings of Republicans and Democrats align with their parties’ respective positions on ESG policy – but at least for now, the issue does not appear highly politicized among the American public.
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