This week, I’m plugging a new piece I posted to SSRN, forthcoming as a chapter in Research Handbook on Corporate Purpose and Personhood (Elizabeth Pollman & Robert Thompson eds., Elgar). It actually includes a lot of the arguments/observations I’ve previously made in this space, but if you want them compiled in a handy chapter, here’s the abstract:

ESG Investing, or, If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em

If corporate purpose debates concern whether corporations should operate solely to benefit their shareholders, or if instead they should operate to benefit the community as a whole, “ESG” – or, investing based on “environmental, social, and governance” factors – occupies a middle ground. Its adherents welcome shareholder power within the corporate form and accept that shareholders are the central objects of corporate concern, but argue that shareholders themselves should encourage corporations to operate with due regard for the protection of nonshareholder constituencies. This Chapter, prepared for the Research Handbook on Corporate Purpose and Personhood, will explore the theory behind ESG, as well as the barriers to its implementation.

Posted in Uncategorized
Print:
Email this postTweet this postLike this postShare this post on LinkedIn
Photo of Ann Lipton Ann Lipton

Ann M. Lipton is a Professor of Law and Laurence W. DeMuth Chair of Business Law at the University of Colorado Law School.  An experienced securities and corporate litigator who has handled class actions involving some of the world’s largest companies, she joined…

Ann M. Lipton is a Professor of Law and Laurence W. DeMuth Chair of Business Law at the University of Colorado Law School.  An experienced securities and corporate litigator who has handled class actions involving some of the world’s largest companies, she joined the Tulane Law faculty in 2015 after two years as a visiting assistant professor at Duke University School of Law.

As a scholar, Lipton explores corporate governance, the relationships between corporations and investors, and the role of corporations in society.  Read more.

Show more Show less