#015 - Martina Macpherson - What ESG Is And Why There Is A Backlash

Martina Macpherson has been recognised as a one of the ‘Top 50 Women in Finance’ (World Finance Forum 2022), and as a strategic engager and influencer (Commetric ESG Influencer Index, 2020, 2021; Modern Slavery Influencer Index, 2018) and by various organisations and bodies for her sustainable investing track record and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) work across industry and academia. Martina is Head of ESG Product Management at SIX - the Swiss Exchanges Group - and a Board Member of the Network for Sustainable Financial Markets. She is a visiting fellow at Henley Business School and a guest lecturer at University of Zurich. Martina has held a range of senior strategy, global research, business and product development roles for global financial services organisations and is a board member and co chair of an infuential working group that shapes policy and regulations at the leading industry body for the ESG data, ratings and index industry, and is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on ESG for the Houses of Parliament in the United Kingdom, as well as many other roles.In this episode, Martina and I talk about what ESG is, its successes, why there is pushback against it and whether its political in nature, the complexity of the data used for ESG investing, and the need to find a balance between expertise and taking on board local perspectives in sustainability policy making, and much more.Show notes- Martina Macpherson on LinkedIn