Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ ESG’s struggles are Big Tech’s problem

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

One of the problems of technology companies when they go public is that they are suddenly required to optimize profit against all else. This especially impacts companies in social service sectors like education. The solution to this is Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, which adds non-financial metrics to a company's reporting to shareholders. But as this article outlines, there are problems defining the metrics, and there is a move afoot to make the practice illegal. Yes, it's the usual suspects. But unless there is some means of valuing non-financial performance, no private sector company can ever be trusted not to inflict wider social harms in the name of its own self-interest.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 2:49 p.m.

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