The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Sat, 13 Jun 2026 11:30:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png The Corporate Director’s Guide to ESG – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 The Corporate Director’s Guide to ESG https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2021/12/15/the-corporate-directors-guide-to-esg/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-corporate-directors-guide-to-esg https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2021/12/15/the-corporate-directors-guide-to-esg/#comments Wed, 15 Dec 2021 14:12:03 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=142100?d=20220202091802EST Posted by Maria Castañón Moats and Paul DeNicola, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, on Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Editor's Note:

Maria Castañón Moats is Leader and Paul DeNicola is Principal at the Governance Insights Center, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. This post is based on their PwC memorandum. Related research from the Program on Corporate Governance includes The Illusory Promise of Stakeholder Governance (discussed on the Forum here) and Will Corporations Deliver Value to All Stakeholders?, both by Lucian A. Bebchuk and Roberto Tallarita; For Whom Corporate Leaders Bargain by Lucian A. Bebchuk, Kobi Kastiel, and Roberto Tallarita (discussed on the Forum here); and Restoration: The Role Stakeholder Governance Must Play in Recreating a Fair and Sustainable American Economy—A Reply to Professor Rock by Leo E. Strine, Jr. (discussed on the Forum here).

For many, the term ESG (environmental, social, governance), conjures notions of investors chasing feel-good stories of sustainability, diversity, and ethics. But given the heightened interests from various stakeholders, corporate directors know ESG is much more.

Far from being just window dressing, making organizations appear socially responsible to the outside world, there are real risks at play when it comes to ESG issues. And there are even more opportunities to be seized.

What is ESG?

ESG is on the minds of many investors today. It can represent risks and opportunities that will impact a company’s ability to create long-term value. This includes environmental issues like climate change and natural resource scarcity. It covers social issues like labor practices, product safety, and data security. And it involves governance matters that include board diversity, executive pay, and tax transparency.

Figure 1 paints a picture of the breadth of topics that can fall under the ESG umbrella. Not all of them will be relevant or material for every company. For example, a financial services firm might focus more on human capital and data security, while a food and beverage manufacturer may be more interested in how they source raw materials.

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