Appearance or substance of Stewardship and ESG reporting: the challenges of translating ‘commitment’ into tangible outcomes

Tilba, Anna

Abstract

Purpose – This paper examines the stewardship practices of BlackRock, one of the world’s biggest index managers, in order to highlight a tension and contradictions associated with demonstrating sustainability leadership and its actual substance. Design/methodology/approach – To support its argument, this paper draws on the author’s longstanding industry and academic experience, existing academic evidence and documentary analysis. Findings – The paper reveals conflicting data, highlighting a tension between BlackRock’s commitment to ESG in its public statements and translating this commitment into tangible outcomes through voting, ESG investments and stewardship reporting, which seem to be more assumed than demonstrated. Research limitations/implications – This viewpoint is based on a review of existing evidence. It offers some critique on current stewardship reporting practices, which has implications for management and policy makers. It identifies areas for future research in the area of stewardship and ESG reporting. Policy implications – The paper highlights the need for a more critical interrogation of investor stewardship and ESG reporting and a more joined up policy and regulatory approach to stewardship and sustainability reporting. Social Implications: - Improving stewardship practices of asset managers will help enhance the social value created by the financial services sector. Originality/value – In drawing on personal experience and existing literature, the originality lies in the combination of arguments brought together to highlight the challenges of making sense of the conflicting ESG reporting data to see how this may impact policies, regulation and future practices in the area of sustainability and ESG reporting.

Citation

Tilba, A. (2022). Appearance or substance of Stewardship and ESG reporting: the challenges of translating ‘commitment’ into tangible outcomes. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 13(5), 1015-1032. https://doi.org/10.1108/sampj-03-2021-0091

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 19, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jul 13, 2022
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: May 23, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 23, 2022
• Journal: Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal
• Electronic ISSN: 2040-8021
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1015-1032
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/sampj-03-2021-0091
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1207402