McDonald’s removes ‘ESG’ references from its website, says report.
McDonald’s Removes “ESG” Mentions from Website Amid Scrutiny
McDonald’s Corp. recently made changes to its website that have caught the attention of many. The fast-food giant removed several mentions of “ESG” (environmental, social, and governance) at a time when corporate accountability on these issues is under close scrutiny.
An analysis by Bloomberg revealed that McDonald’s “Purpose & Impact” website underwent some alterations. One webpage changed its title from “Performance & ESG Reporting” to “Goal Performance & Reporting.” Another page that used to display “ESG Approach & Progress” now shows “Our Approach & Progress.”
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According to Bloomberg, some ESG abbreviations were replaced with the phrase “environmental and social issues.”
When asked about the changes, McDonald’s declined to comment on its website modifications. However, the company affirmed its commitment to annual reporting on its progress regarding social and environmental goals.
This analysis comes shortly after a study revealed that companies with high ESG scores, as reported by Moody’s, MSCI, and Refinitiv, actually pollute as much as those with low ratings.
The study, conducted by ESG/climate index platform provider Scientific Beta, found that high ESG ratings have little to no relation to carbon intensity, even when considering only the environmental pillar of these ratings.
McDonald’s wording change has been met with skepticism on Twitter. Critics argue that altering titles doesn’t matter if the underlying policies remain the same.
Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research and a frequent critic of ESG investing, wrote on Twitter, “Consumers aren’t going to be fooled by word games—changing the titles around doesn’t matter when they’re pushing the same woke politics.”
State Financial Officers Foundation, a public policy nonprofit organization, applauded the change but urged McDonald’s to go further. They emphasized the importance of focusing on customers rather than engaging in boardroom activism.
Patrick Bet-David, CEO of online content company Valuetainment, expressed his view that ESG is becoming a curse word. He pointed out that McDonald’s may have hidden their ESG reference but maintained identical policies.
This skepticism echoes a similar situation in June when BlackRock CEO Larry Fink announced that he would no longer use the ESG term. Fink stated that the term had been misused by both the far left and the far right.
While some welcome these changes, others remain skeptical. Only time will tell if these alterations are a sincere change of heart or merely a response to public pressure.
It’s worth noting that S&P Global recently announced that it will no longer include ESG scores in its credit ratings. This decision has been welcomed by some red states, including West Virginia.
As the conversation around ESG continues, it is clear that companies are facing increasing scrutiny and pressure to align their actions with their stated values.
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