After Year of Culture Wars, Bosses Are Talking Less About ESG

ESG was near the top of just about every top executive’s talking points just a few years ago.

Now, tired of drawing flak from activists on either side of the political spectrum, many CEOs have decided to bottle it up — particularly in the US.

Bloomberg scrutinized transcripts of financial presentations by the 100 biggest European and American traded companies during the latest results season, and found a sharp drop in references to environmental, social and governance issues.

Climate change and related terms generated 269 mentions in the US so far this quarter — more than 60% fewer than a ...