At CrowdX, an investing marketplace which demands ESG disclosures from all its participants, we think the opposite can be true. Yet we know from the success of The Peterborough Bond – the world’s first social impact bond - that programs to reduce reoffending, whilst expensive in the short term, deliver positive outcomes in the long term. So why not adjust the metrics to ensure those running prisons can benefit from bigger picture thinking would shift the investment case, both on a financial and social impact level? If anything, the farce lies with the way some big companies have positioned themselves to take advantage of highly automated ESG rating systems and on this point Soames certainly has legitimate cause for concern. However, to suggest we get to a point where some companies will become uninvestable is simply disingenuous.

Source: The Times January 10, 2022 15:51 UTC