The Fortune CEO Initiative is dedicated to helping business leaders find ways to promote social progress as part of their core strategies. This opinion piece is based on a discussion among CEO members during this year’s CEO Initiative Annual Meeting, held Oct. 3, 2023, in Washington, D.C. The authors are CEOI members.
ESG is having a moment. CEOs face backlash to their efforts to support environmental, social, and governance initiatives in their companies. Detractors demand that management teams redirect their ESG and diversity and inclusion efforts to focus more on margins and balance sheets.
