Despite COVID-19, climate change and environment
organisations remain attentive, and the public's preference for
carbon-neutral industry continues to rise. Corporations cannot
allow their environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda to
stagnate in uncertain times.
The current market disruption resulting from COVID-19
presents an opportunity for companies to assess their ESG standing,
implement and expand their corporate ESG policies and take action
to improve their resilience to future crises.
Increasing shareholder activism is just one reason an ESG focus
has merit for companies. In March 2020, the Rainforest Alliance
Network (RAN) released its 'Banking on Climate
Change' report into the financing of the fossil fuel industry
by 35 private-sector banks. It found that since the Paris Agreement
in 2016, a number of the banks had funded US$2.7 trillion worth of
fossil fuel projects. RAN has now called for an immediate end to
the financing of fossil fuel expansion
