1960s
Social investing roots
Activist investors and community campaigns linked values to capital allocation.
The history of ESG: From values to value
See how ESG evolved before planning what comes next.
Understanding ESG history shows why today’s reporting, stakeholder expectations, and standards look the way they do.
What does “ESG history” cover?
ESG history spans the early days of socially responsible investing, the rise of governance codes, the introduction of sustainability reporting, and modern regulation.
2006
UN PRI launch
The Principles for Responsible Investment formalised ESG integration for institutional investors.
2020s
Global regulation
CSRD, ISSB, and climate-related laws made ESG disclosure mainstream.
Key milestones in ESG history
Values-based investing era. Faith groups, universities, and communities screened portfolios for weapons, apartheid, and tobacco.
Governance and accountability. Corporate scandals in the 1990s catalysed stronger governance codes and transparency expectations.
Sustainability frameworks emerge. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and CDP introduced structured environmental and social disclosures.
Mainstream ESG integration. Investors, ratings agencies, and regulators embedded ESG language into capital markets and policy.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why ESG history knowledge still matters
Context for today’s rules. Teams understand why reporting feels complex when they see the decades of evolution behind it.
Clarity on stakeholder expectations. Knowing the origin of ESG keeps conversations grounded in real demands, not hype.
Debunking myths. Revisiting ESG history shows it is not a fad but an ongoing convergence of finance, governance, and sustainability.
Stronger narratives. Timelines help boards explain how their ESG strategy fits into the wider story.
APPLYING HISTORY
How to use ESG history in today’s plans
- Connect milestones to your industry. Show how each wave of ESG history influenced regulations or customer expectations in your sector.
- Explain vocabulary shifts. Clarify when terms like CSR, sustainability, responsible investment, and ESG were introduced and how they differ.
- Highlight progress and gaps. Celebrate improvements while noting what still needs work—valuable for annual reporting.
- Guide stakeholder education. Use the timeline to brief teams, boards, and partners so debates start from the same facts.
LOOKING AHEAD
Turn ESG history lessons into next steps
- Spot repeating patterns. Many ESG debates recur; anticipate them and prepare data-backed answers.
- Invest in capabilities early. Every regulatory wave rewarded organisations that prepared systems and data before deadlines.
- Keep collaboration alive. ESG history shows breakthroughs happen when finance, civil society, and regulators collaborate.
- Log assumptions. Record how past lessons influence today’s plan so future teams see the rationale.
How to share ESG history with your teams
Create a simple timeline slide. Use five to seven milestones to orient strategy sessions.
Map current initiatives to history. Link each ESG project to the regulation or stakeholder trend that inspired it.
Use RunSustainably notes. Store historical context alongside objectives so new owners see why work exists.
GLOSSARY SNAPSHOT
History glossary snapshot
Socially responsible investing (SRI). Investment approaches that screened companies based on ethical criteria before ESG became mainstream.
Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). A UN-backed initiative encouraging investors to integrate ESG factors into decisions.
CSRD. The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, a modern example of ESG history in action.
FAQS
History of ESG: from values to value FAQs
When did ESG start?
The phrase ESG was popularised in a 2004 UN Global Compact report, but its roots trace back to decades of social investing and governance reform.
Is ESG a new concept?
No—the history shows a steady progression from CSR and responsible investing into today’s integrated ESG frameworks.
Why revisit ESG history now?
Because new regulations and AI search trends reward authoritative, contextual evergreen content.
How do I keep ESG history up to date?
Add major regulatory launches, investor statements, or industry breakthroughs to your timeline each year.
Drova RunSustainably unites objectives, approvals, and reporting so these ESG topics stay actionable.
Ready to keep ESG insight organised?
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