McDonald’s Corp. recently removed a number of mentions of “ESG” from its website, at a time when corporate accountability on environmental, social, and governance issues has come under close scrutiny.
According to an analysis by Bloomberg published on Aug. 11, the burger chain’s “Purpose & Impact” website recently removed several “ESG” terms. One webpage has changed its title from “Performance & ESG Reporting” to “Goal Performance & Reporting.”
On a separate page, the title used to show “ESG Approach & Progress” but now displays “Our Approach & Progress.”
According to the outlet, some ESG abbreviations were replaced by the phrase “environmental and social issues.”
When reached by the outlet, McDonald’s declined to comment on the changes on its website. However, the fast-food chain said it remains committed to its annual reporting on its progress on social and environmental goals.
The analysis came just days after a new study showed that companies with high ESG scores—as reported by Moody’s, MSCI, and Refinitiv—pollute as much as those with low ratings.
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High ESG ratings “have little to no relation to carbon intensity, even when considering only the environmental pillar of these ratings,” according to the study conducted by ESG/climate index platform provider Scientific Beta.
McDonald’s wording change was met with skepticism on Twitter, now formally known as X.
“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:” wrote Will Hild, executive director of Consumers’ Research and a frequent critic of ESG investing, on Aug. 11.
“Woke capital is backpedaling on ‘ESG’ because consumers have finally had it and are standing up for themselves—but we have to make them change more than their websites,” Mr. Hild added. “They must focus on their customers, not woke politicians.”
State Financial Officers Foundation, a public policy nonprofit organization, applauded the change but encouraged McDonald’s to do more.
“We’re lovin’ it! Shining light on the #ESGscam is causing everyone to back away from ‘ESG’ even @McDonalds—fiduciary duty to shareholders rules. Dropping the letters from the website is good, but but dropping boardroom activism is where it counts,” the group wrote.
Patrick Bet-David, CEO of online content company Valuetainment, wrote that ESG “is becoming a curse word.”
“McDonald’s hides their ESG reference but maintains identical policies,” Mr. David added.
Similar skepticism arose in June after BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, an outspoken champion of progressive causes, said he would no longer use the ESG term. Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Mr. Fink said, “I’m not going to use the word ESG because it’s been misused by the far left and the far right.”
Responding to Mr. Fink’s remark, Mr. Hild told The Epoch Times, “Only time will tell, but I’m very skeptical that this is a sincere change of heart.”
“I’m not surprised that they would ditch the term [ESG]. This is typical of their response to the pushback they’ve been getting. It’s been to talk out of both sides of their mouth, depending on who they’re speaking to at the time,” Mr. Hild added.
Earlier this month, S&P Global announced that it will no longer include ESG scores in its credit ratings.
Some red states, including West Virginia, have welcomed the credit rating agency’s decision.
“I’m grateful S&P Global has responded to our calls to ditch these subjective, politically motivated ESG ratings scores and instead go back to relying on more solid, objective financial metrics in their analyses,” West Virginia state treasurer Riley Moore told The Epoch Times. “The fact that S&P Global has stepped back provides hope for a return to financial sanity in America.”
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