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What a difference a year (or two) makes. With “ESG” terminology generating a lot of political hot air, the phrase seems to be evaporating from earnings calls. This FactSet article says that in Q1 of this year, only 74 S&P 500 companies directly used the term “ESG” in their earnings calls, which is the lowest number since Q2 of 2020.

As a reminder, data from last year showed that “ESG” was coming up a lot during Q&A, and “climate change” started to pop up in earnings calls two years ago. FactSet says that we reached “peak ESG” (in earnings calls) during Q4 of 2021. Here’s more detail on where we stand now:

At the sector level, the Financials (11) and Health Care (11) sectors had the highest number of S&P 500 companies citing “ESG” on earnings calls for Q1. Combined, these two sectors accounted for 30% of the total number of S&P 500 companies discussing “ESG” on earnings calls for Q1 2023. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, eight of the eleven sectors recorded a decrease in the number of companies citing “ESG” on earnings calls, led by the Industrials (-5) and Information Technology (-4) sectors.

The FactSet data aligns with this GlobalData analysis, which appears to have reviewed earnings releases, call transcripts, investor presentations, and – shockingly – sustainability reports from around the world. In this data set, the mentions of “ESG” – and “climate change” – have supposedly dropped by 85% in corporate disclosures this quarter compared to the same quarter last year. ESG was still mentioned 115,363 times in the most recent quarter, with climate change mentioned 31,094.

The drop in “climate change” mentions is surprising to me since here in the US, we have all spent the summer grieving disasters, roasting in heat waves, and/or breathing copious amounts of wildfire smoke – all as we await the SEC’s final climate disclosure rules. Apparently, though, inflation is getting more airtime around the world. And what buzzworthy new topic are US companies discussing with investors? AI, of course!

Over on PracticalESG.com – and at our upcoming “2nd Annual Practical ESG Conference” – we continue to share checklists, other resources, and guidance from experienced practitioners on how to navigate this time of turbulence. Refining your ESG strategies, communications, and programs is actually more important now than ever. Here’s the full agenda for the conference, which has sessions on how to tackle greenwashing, avoid ESG-related risks, position DEI, and more.

– Liz Dunshee