“Sustainability” investments became popular a few years back. So-called experts said companies shouldn’t just focus on profit. They should put more effort into being “nice.”
Funds pushing ESG (environmental, social and governance) were all the rage.
Giant investment firms like BlackRock pressured companies to hire more women and minorities. CEO Larry Fink announced, “All investments are going to be looked through sustainability.”
But “sustainability” is a mostly meaningless word. Parnassus claimed it helped meet UN sustainability goals of “nutrition” and “sanitation” by investing in U.S. Foods and Clorox.
Starbucks phased out plastic straws while adding lids that used more plastic. BP rebranded itself as “Beyond Petroleum.” Wisely, it mostly invested in petroleum.
Former Vice President Al Gore made money peddling climate change hysteria. He created “sustainability investment funds,” claiming “sustainability factors … actually enhance returns!” His funds did enhance Gore’s own returns; he made millions. But over the past three years, his “sustainable” fund underperformed the stock market. Recently the fund managers admitted they “made investment mistakes.”
Most funds promoting “sustainable investment” did worse than the market. So, why did trillions of dollars pour into such funds?
“Because of pressures,” says Matt Cole, CEO of Strive Investments. “Their largest clients are blue states’ pension (funds) like CalPERS and the New York pension (fund) who put pressure on them: ‘Adopt these agendas or you’re going to lose us as your largest customer!’”
CalPERS still brags about “mitigating climate risk” and adding “climate-conscious board members” to Exxon’s board. Presidential climate envoy John Kerry pompously bullied banks.
Today, banks and even Blackrock are running from sustainability nonsense.
“What you’re seeing,” says Cole, “is ESG funds shuttering at record speed … and they’re not apologizing.”
Progressives never do.
This fad didn’t just hurt investors; it hurt companies that America needs.
America needs high-performance computer chips. Intel was once the leading manufacturer of such chips. But now, even as Congress gives Intel billions in taxpayer handouts, the company is cutting thousands of jobs.
Why? While Intel’s competitors innovated, Intel obsessed about “sustainability.”
Intel’s website lists endless ESG goals like “environmental, health, wellness, and safety programs to care for people and the planet.” It even brags about “green software” … whatever that is.
That’s a lot of energy spent making the best chip. When companies spend time sucking up to politicians rather than innovating, they often decline. Intel’s stock fell 60% last year.
Fortunately, today more companies are focusing on basic capitalism — producing better products for less money.
Ford recently announced it will no longer require employees to take LGBTQ advocacy group surveys.
USA Today reports that Lowe’s will reduce its participation with the Human Rights Campaign to “narrow its focus to safe and affordable housing.”
When I was co-host of “20/20,” I wondered what would happen when Disney bought ABC. Not much changed for a while. But a few years later, after repeatedly rejecting videos I proposed about problems with Obamacare, ABC fired me. Still later, I laughed as I watched Disney go full woke.
The president of the entertainment content division said, “We have many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories, and yet we don’t have enough leads.” Disney’s television animation producer added, “I was just, wherever I could, adding queerness.”
But many such movies flopped. “The Marvels,” featuring a Muslim teen and black female sidekick, lost $237 million. “Lightyear,” featuring the first same-sex kiss in a Disney-Pixar movie, lost $106 million. “Elemental,” featuring a nonbinary character (a lake with earrings), didn’t even reach $30 million it’s opening week.
Now Disney’s quietly scaling back.
More companies have started to recognize a need to focus on their core business rather than virtue-signaling.
“It’s the beginnings of an unwind,” says Cole, “that I think is going to be critical for us to achieve success.”
I wonder why they were so dumb in the first place.
Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”
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