Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters is unfazed by ESG naysayers like Elon Musk. Prakash Singh—Bloomberg — Getty Images
Right-wing populists, politicians and Elon Musk are increasingly pushing back against companies that look beyond profits, but Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters isn't concerned.
In his eyes, environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is not only good for the world's health, it's also good for business.
“I mean, I want to wake up one day and have a planet, so if that wakes you up, shoot me,” said the bank boss. CNBC.
“This is not a charity act, this is not a political awakening,” added Winters, who took in $9.9 million last year. “It's about doing what's right for the planet, which means doing what's right for your business. That's what we've been doing.”
Mr Winters says the 170-year-old UK's leading bank is aiming to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from its own operations by 2025 and net-zero carbon emissions from lending by 2050. This is why he claimed to be constantly “refining” his sexual strategy.
“We said we were going to be a thought leader and an action leader on policy around net zero, and our clients are fully engaged with us. shows no signs of backing down from that,” Winters said.
“And secondly, we said we're going to build a business that supports our clients. That business made $720 million last year and we said we're going to make $1 billion next year. ” It’s not for nothing. It's good business for us. ”
The proof is in the pudding. The London-based lender just reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and announced it would soon begin a $1 billion share buyback.
“We have increased our expectations and are targeting a return on tangible equity of close to 10% in 2023, above 11% in 2024, and continued growth thereafter,” Winters said in a statement. said.
ESG critic
Winters' comments come at a time when ESG investing has become a hotly debated issue.
In US politics, for example, conservatives have used the term “woke capitalism” to refer to institutions that use ESG criteria to limit funding for industries such as fossil fuels.
According to a report by Pleiades Strategy, a strategic research and advisory firm, Republican lawmakers in 37 states introduced 165 anti-ESG bills in 2023 alone.
“Obviously, the political environment in the United States is 10 times more toxic, and that's why people are silent,” Winters said, reflecting on current political tensions.
“But one of my favorite statistics is that the largest renewable power center in the United States is Texas. Leading the attack on pension fund managers who have 'woke' policies or something. Which state are you in? ”
Outside Congress, business leaders have been debating the topic for years.
Tariq Fancy famously shocked the investment world in 2021 with his four-part essay, “The Secret Diary of a Sustainable Investor.”
Less than two years after being appointed as BlackRock's first chief investment officer for sustainable investing, Mr. Fancy called sustainable investing a “dangerous placebo” that impeded real change on environmental and social issues. there was.
In the UK, Stuart Kirk, former head of responsible investment at HSBC Asset Management, accused central bankers and policymakers of exaggerating the financial risks of climate change in order to “exaggerate the next person”. , was forced to resign from the top job in 2022. .
More recently, Elon Musk bluntly labeled ESG as a “fraud.” His criticism comes shortly after Tesla was removed from the S&P 500 ESG index.
Of course, not all is well in the ESG space. Greenwashing and his ESG scams are rampant, but if ultimately his ESG goals are completely abandoned, companies may no longer have a clear focus on sustainability.
As Peter Drucker says, “You can't improve what you don't measure.”
