The writer is chief executive of FCLTGlobal, a non-profit that researches long-term investing
In Europe, the regulatory pressure on environmental, social and governance issues is strong and growing stronger, from new rules on reporting such data and integrating it into investment decisions to required disclosure of ESG risk analysis.
In the US, the regulatory momentum is going the other way. The Department of Labor has proposed amendments to its rules covering pension plans that would require administrators to prove that they are not sacrificing financial returns by taking ESG factors into account. US regulators have also shown little interest in providing guidance on which metrics might be most appropriate for companies to disclose.