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Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) has become the noun, verb, and adjective of the modern business era. Faced with societal and regulatory pressure, big business in America, Asia, and Europe has been forced to define and articulate ESG goals to combat climate change and save the planet. The only problem is that ESG has been captured by the PR hype machine as a few prominent business leaders make bold promises to save the planet but are vague about how they propose to achieve this. Eager to showcase their green credentials, companies are making all kinds of promises to reduce their carbon footprint and to play their part in reducing global warming and improving social outcomes. How to separate fact from fiction and exaggerated commitments from realistic goals?
Vasuki Shastry spent several years at the coal face itself – running ESG for a major international bank in the City of London – and argues that corporate cultures are too focused on the profit motive and quarterly business targets. Change can only really come through a paradigm shift for business which aligns business with social purpose. Getting there will require a corporate revolution which will disrupt and dislodge the ancien régime and usher in a new age of sustainable business. The author offers a solution in the form of a Climate Manifesto for Business that will Make Our Planet Great Again!
At a time when 'woke capitalism' and the ESG construct are under attack, Vasuki Shastry gives his readers a comprehensive, yet easy to follow overview of the ESG landscape as a predicate to calling out the urgent need for the business community to play its part in combatting the climate crisis and furthering social justice objectives. By addressing head-on both the challenges and the imperatives of addressing the challenges, Shastry, with the benefit of his insider’s perspective, provides a much needed and valuable roadmap for business leaders and their advisers to navigate the ESG landscape.
— Mark Bergman, Founder, 7Pillars Global Insights LLC and former Head, Global Securities and Capital Markets Group, Paul Weiss
Vasuki Shastry has achieved the impossible: his book makes a serious topic both accessible and entertaining. It’s a reminder to us all that we have to stop paying lip-service to ESG – the planet’s survival depends on it. Every Chief Executive should be forced to read this and forced to question their approach.
— Jonathan Charles, Communications Strategist, Broadcaster, and former Executive Committee Member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
Vasuki Shastry is a former Associate Fellow in the Asia Pacific program at Chatham House. He spent several years at the coal face itself – running ESG for a major international bank in the City of London – and argues that corporate cultures are too focused on the profit motive and quarterly business targets. Change can only really come through a paradigm shift for business which aligns business with social purpose. Getting there will require a corporate revolution which will disrupt and dislodge the ancien régime and usher in a new age of sustainable business. The author offers a solution in the form of a Climate Manifesto for Business that will Make Our Planet Great Again!
Chapter 1. The ABC of ESG
Chapter 2. A Brief History of Grime
Chapter 3. Our Carbon-Industrial Complex
Chapter 4. The Prophet Motive
Chapter 5. Emission Omissions
Chapter 6. The Merits of “Woke” Capitalism
Chapter 7. Bored of Directors
Chapter 8. Rebels Without a Pause
Chapter 9. Making ESG Great Again