S&P 500 Defy ESG Backlash by Keeping Sustainability Oversight

Verizon Communications Inc., Target Corp., Caterpillar Inc., and hundreds of other big companies say their boards are still closely watching sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives, even as an anti-ESG wave hits US businesses.

The vast majority of S&P 500 members, about 430 companies, had a board committee responsible for overseeing sustainability or CSR activities as of 2024, the last year data was available for most firms, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis. The tally has remained steady since 2022, after the number of boards with a committee supervising environmental, social, and governance programs doubled from 2018. ...