Many don’t trust financial services companies on ESG pledges, survey shows

Many people do not believe financial services companies will keep their environmental and social pledges, a new survey says.

Public confidence in financial organisations’ promises to become more socially responsible has dipped, according to Royal London Ireland’s Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) Sentiment Index.

The pensions business says almost one in five people have “little or no trust” in financial services companies to keep their environmental and social governance promises.

This scepticism increases among younger people, with one in three of those aged 18 to 24 showing little or no trust in these businesses’ pledges.

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A similar number of those aged 25 to 34 also disbelieve banks, insurers and others in this sector when it comes to doing their bit for society and the environment, while 28 per cent of those aged between 35 and 44 share that view.

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From next year, ESG reporting will be mandatory, obliging companies to demonstrate how they perform in these areas.

[ ECB threatens 20 banks with fines after climate-risk warning ]

Royal London Ireland’s figures show that trust in ESG commitments on the part of financial services has dipped since its last survey in the spring.

Joe Charles, proposition director at the firm, warned that it was up to financial services companies themselves to combat this by acting to support efforts to reach net zero carbon – and communicating this clearly.

“Trust and optimism in financial services organisations in this country is subdued, but not absent, when it comes to ESG,” Mr Charles said.

“It’s clear that financial services companies need to improve in this area by demonstrating their commitment and ability to be a force for good through their actions, and then evidencing this by communicating the actions taken and outcomes delivered.”

He added that it would be interesting to see how the public’s response to the ESG index evolves over coming years.

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