Economist Milton Friedman's influential maxim, that a company's sole obligation is to maximize profits, is outdated. Many companies have voluntarily integrated social concerns into their business operations through corporate social responsibility, or CSR, policies for years.
More recently, some companies have broadened their notion of what's required of them beyond a traditional CSR approach by adopting what's known as environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies that can be more appropriate for confronting challenges that go beyond the social realm, such as climate change.
Doing right by people and the planet
This tension, and questions about the authenticity of corporate social responsibility and environment, social and governance commitments, have been the subject of much debate over the past decade, with the pendulum swinging from one side to another.
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