关于ESG争议的研究进展

Research Progress on ESG Controversies

2024年是ESG概念正式提出20周年,20年来ESG在研究和实践领域充满争议。本文对ESG争议中反对ESG的主要观点和研究成果进行系统梳理,将这些观点归结为三个方面:基于价值理性对ESG合理性的否定,即认为ESG偏离企业目的、ESG违背信义义务、ESG是觉醒资本主义;基于工具理性对ESG合效性的批判,即认为ESG不能为企业和投资者创造价值增益、内生缺陷导致ESG无益于社会进步、表演式ESG严重危害可持续发展;基于交往理性对ESG合意性的质疑,即认为ESG评级分歧引发ESG投资“噪音”和实践困惑、ESG信息披露失真对利益相关者造成损害。本文还对ESG抵制行动的消极影响效应、ESG支持者对否定ESG观点的反驳、针对ESG争议的应对策略、对ESG发展的理性反思等方面的研究成果进行归纳总结,并提出未来深化ESG研究的重点方向。

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the formal introduction of the environmental,social,and governance(ESG) concept,and the ESG research and practice have been full of controversies in the past 20 years,which has become even more intense in recent years.These controversies pose serious challenges to the healthy and sustainable development of ESG,but provide opportunities for rational reflection on the current hot ESG.This paper systematically reviews the main views and research results in the field of opposing ESG,summarizes the research results in response to criticism of ESG,and looks forward to future research directions.Firstly,ESG opponents deny the rationality of ESG from the perspective of value rationality,i.e.,they deny the value significance and purposiveness of ESG.Based on the shareholder theory,ESG opponents uphold the corporate purpose view that prioritizes shareholder interests,and believe that ESG deviates from the corporate purpose of maximizing shareholder interests.In their view,ESG investment violates fiduciary obligations unless specifically permitted or required by law.At the same time,they attack ESG as “woke capitalism”,label it as “woke washing”,and believe that ESG should be abolished even if it is not illegal.Secondly,ESG opponents criticize the effectiveness of ESG from the perspective of instrumental rationality,i.e.,they deny the instrumental value and practical significance of ESG.ESG opponents believe that ESG fails to create added value for enterprises and investors,which will make ESG lose its legitimacy within enterprises and pose serious doubts to whether institutional investors,as trustees,have fulfilled their fiduciary obligations.In their view,ESG has serious inherent flaws that prevent it from effectively addressing environmental and social issues,and are not conducive to promoting social progress.They further believe that there are a large number of so-called “performing” rather than “real” ESG in reality,which pose serious risks to the interests of stakeholders and sustainable development goals.Thirdly,ESG opponents question the desirability of ESG from the perspective of communicative rationality,i.e.,they deny the communicative rationality value and practical feasibility of ESG.ESG opponents argue that ESG ratings are highly divergent,which will lead to information chaos and confusion to investors,enterprises and other stakeholders,and the “bond” and guiding function of ESG ratings are completely lost.In their view,the inadequate and poor ESG disclosure is common in reality,and ESG disclosure by enterprises is often symbolic rather than substantive,which is detrimental to the interests of stakeholders.Fourthly,this paper reviews the research findings on responding to ESG opponents,which include the impact of ESG-boycotting actions,refutation of opposing ESG views,and response and reflection on ESG controversies.ESG-boycotting actions have multiple negative impacts.ESG supporters criticize the argument that denies the foundation of ESG and politicizes and ideologizes ESG,and believe that ESG is imperfect but its problems are not insurmountable.There are three ways for enterprises and investors to respond to ESG opponents:resolute resistance,pragmatism,and classified response.Based on reflection on views opposing ESG,scholars have proposed two directions for ESG development:improvement and channel switching.Finally,this paper proposes directions for deepening research on ESG controversies,especially the key ESG issues that ESG opponents are concerned about.At present,research results on ESG controversies are relatively scattered,and related research is still at the preliminary stage.In the future,it is necessary to deepen research on ESG concepts and content boundaries,ESG basic theories,and the economic and social effects of ESG-boycotting actions,and response strategies for ESG opponents.