WASHINGTON (February 22, 2024) – Some of the world’s largest financial firms have spent years pledging to fight climate change; but now, many of those same institutions are reneging on those promises. According to the New York Times financial giants like JPMorgan, State Street and Pimco have all pulled out of a group called Climate Action 100+, an international coalition of money managers that was pushing big companies to address climate issues. An increasing number of other companies have recently retreated from their environmental pledges.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, commentary and analysis. If you’d like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at gwmedia
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John Forrer, associate research professor of strategic management & public policy, is the director of the Institute for Corporate Responsibility at the GW School of Business. Forrer’s current research project topics include impact investing, ESG standards in emerging markets, carbon credits and offsets, ESG as a form of global governance, peace bonds, circular economy and fast fashion. He teaches courses on impact investing, business government relations, and public private partnerships.
Joel Gehman is the Thaddeus A. Lindner and Sergius Gambal Professor of Business Ethics and professor of strategic management and public policy at GW Business. Gehman’s research investigates how businesses and other organizations can contribute to tackling grand challenges related to sustainable development through strategic practices, technological innovation, and institutional change.
Gehman says one way of thinking about these moves is to frame the question this way: when and why might companies promote their sustainability credentials and when and why might they stay silent? Research tells Gehman that firms will talk about their sustainability credentials when those credentials help them stand out from the crowd, or firms will stay silent about their sustainability credentials when they are concerned about reputational harms that could occur if they’re discovered to not be living up to the standards they claim to value.
“Some firms are falling silent because it is no longer differentiating. Other firms are falling silent because they don't want to be claimed to be hypocritical. But critically, if the question is "what are firms actually doing about climate change" assessing their talk is clearly not a reliable indicator. Talk is not walk. Symbols are not substance,” Gehman says.
Susan Anenberg, is Director of the GW Climate & Health Institute, and professor of environmental and occupational health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. Anenberg’s research focuses on the health implications of air pollution, including disparities in air pollution and climate change. Anenberg can discuss steps companies and policymakers can take to address climate change.
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