I'm Sure That This Is Nothing to Be Concerned With

Ahem:

In a weighty report this week, the OECD — which represents the governments of the world’s developed nations including Canada — delivered another package of nails intended for the coffin the agency is building for market capitalism. Titled Sustainable and Resilient Finance, the report is part of a continuing series on how the world financial system can incorporate “sustainable finance” into corporate decision-making, the objective being to force corporate executives to make environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues a core part of their corporate missions.

The report itself, however, waves a handful of large red flags over the ESG movement, which in the past couple of years has been championed by a cabal of some of the world’s leading corporate and financial figures, from Larry Fink at BlackRock Inc. to Canada’s own sustainable finance activist, Mark Carney — and by such global anti-capitalist organizations as the World Economic Forum. The WEF’s 2020 Davos Manifesto called for global adoption of the idea that the purpose of a corporation is to fulfil “human and societal aspirations as part of the broader social system. Performance must be measured not only on the return to shareholders, but also on how it achieves its environmental, social and good governance objectives. Executive remuneration should reflect stakeholder responsibility.” ...

A good micro-example of corporate ESG meltdown is the role major business enterprises played in the rise of the Kielburger brothers’ WE Charity. Major Canadian and U.S. corporations, directly and through foundations, gave tens of millions to WE over the years — from RBC to KPMG to Microsoft — and joined in WE marketing campaigns. A blog by Vivian Krause details the corporate involvement with WE. When the crash came they pulled their backing.

What due diligence did these companies perform before they started turning over millions of dollars to WE? Is the corporate ESG assessment before sending $5 million to WE (or any other charitable or environmental group) as diligent as a profit-seeing business assessment made before spending $5 million on the purchase of equipment or building a new plant?