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  • Introduction

  • Edited by Valentina Gentile, Luiss University of Rome, Eric W. Orts, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Andreas Rasche, Copenhagen Business School, Alan Strudler, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
  • Book:
    The Ethics of ESG
    Published online:
    27 December 2025
    Print publication:
    22 January 2026, pp 1-20

  • Summary

    This introduction situates the volume within contemporary debates surrounding Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). It traces the historical evolution of the ESG movement—originally conceived as a voluntary form of regulation—from its origins in the early 2000s, associated with the launch of the UN’s Who Cares Wins initiative, to current developments marked by political backlash in the United States and regulatory consolidation in Europe. The authors argue that the widespread tendency to reduce ESG to issues of financial materiality—a view they describe as “mainstream ESG”—risks undermining its ethical and social foundations. Against this backdrop, the book advances the claim that ESG cannot be meaningfully developed without serious ethical reflection. The second part of the introduction presents the chapters included in this collection along three main lines: debates about the purpose(s) of ESG; discussions concerning the tensions between profitability and sustainability; and analyses of ESG as a form of voluntary or mandatory disclosure.