Environmental | Social | Governance
The world has undoubtedly changed over the past 20 years and even more noticeable in the past ten years. Technology has flipped industries on their head making legacy processes and business practices obsolete. The saying "if you cannot beat them, then join them," comes to mind when thinking about the laggards of technology. Executives at the helm of mature "Blue Chip" Fortune 500 companies were unable to grasp the monumental revolution caused by technology.
The Boomer Mentality
Boomers probably never anticipated their customers would expect their goods to arrive on their doorstep within 48 hours after purchasing online. Executives were still under the impression that consumers were afraid to use their credit cards online and would not challenge brick and mortar retail.
The age of carbon production still has four more years to pivot and consolidate before consumers demand green products. The Green New Deal will take time to pass, although it will give. Oil tycoons are astute to know their jig is coming to an end; however we will see how graceful they are to fall or invest in the future. Oil companies sell carbon as their primary product and source of income. How will they adapt to stay relevant in a time when demand for electric transport is parabolic. It is similar to Thomas Edison trying to sell Direct Current (DC) after the adoption of Alternating Current (AC), it is obsolete.
ESG, Environment, Social, and Governance are the primary focus of the 2020s. The shift from profit-only driven business models will change to how "nice" of a company one can be. Rather than return gobbles of money back to investors, companies will return environmental and social benefits to the community at large. Working together with government to develop fair trading and manufacturing regulation will help mitigate companies from reallocating EPA credits to produce more than their share of carbon.
The world is making an effort to better itself and everyone in it. We have to do our part in building companies that give back to the people and the planet before there is nothing left to take.