In 1971, two United Methodist ministers opposed to the Vietnam War established the Pax World Fund, the first publicly available mutual fund in the U.S. that considered social and environmental factors in investment decisions.

The emergence of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing in the 1990s marked a significant shift towards businesses and investors prioritizing social and environmental factors alongside financial returns.

Amy Domini established the Domini Social Impact Equity Fund to experiment with socially responsible investing. By 2001, the fund amassed $1.3 billion and exhibited a 15.08% return, slightly below the S&P 500's 15.25%, showcasing the financial viability of investing in socially responsible causes.

In 1992, the UNFCCC was established with the goal of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to prevent dangerous human-induced interference with the climate system. The convention was signed by 154 states in Rio de Janeiro and came into effect in March 1994.

The first inventory of sustainable investments in the United States was conducted, marking a significant milestone in the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was established in 1997 to address environmental concerns and later expanded its focus to include social and governance issues.

In 1998, John Elkington introduced the concept of the triple bottom line in his book, Cannibals with Forks, emphasizing the importance of considering people, planet, and profit in business sustainability.

The UNGC was established in July 2000 as a platform and framework for companies dedicated to sustainability and responsible business practices, with Ten Principles covering human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.

In 2002, 35 investors asked the 500 largest companies to provide information on their climate-related activities, aiming to standardize climate disclosures.

In 2004, the first 'Who Cares Wins' report was published, introducing the term ESG and emphasizing the importance of environmental, social, and governance factors in investment decisions.

The initiative released the Who Cares Wins Report in 2005, which highlighted the connection between ESG actions and financial performance, marking the inception of the term 'ESG'.

The UNPRI reporting framework was initiated in April 2006 following an invitation from the then-United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to institutional investors to develop responsible investment principles. The framework has seen significant growth in signatories, with each adhering to the Six Principles for Responsible Investment.

The largest organizations working on climate issues collaborated to form the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), which developed a reporting framework focusing on the risks and opportunities of climate change on organizational strategies, financial performance, and condition. The framework later expanded to include considerations for water security and forest risks.

Sustainalytics, created in 2008, offers ESG ratings on a 0-100 scale and has emerged as an international player with ratings for over 7,000 companies.

GRI started implementing the term ESG and focusing on environmental, social, and governance issues in 2009, a few years after the term began to gain prominence.

MSCI began providing ESG ratings in 2010 and is now one of the largest independent providers globally, covering over 6,000 companies and 400,000 securities.

Jean Rogers founded the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) with the aim of establishing meaningful accounting standards that capture the influence of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors on companies' financial performance within specific industries. The standards require companies to account for factors like water security and environmental impacts of their activities.

TCFD was established in December 2015 with the objective of enhancing climate considerations in the global financial system by enabling companies to report climate-related financial risks to stakeholders.

In 2016, there was a notable increase in interest towards ESG reporting frameworks, with GRI being the most widely used standard globally.

In 2017, BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink emphasized the importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors in evaluating companies for investment. This led to a trend where other Wall Street firms also started considering ESG criteria in their investment decisions.

ISS Environmental and Social QualityScore, launched in February 2018, rates companies on their environmental and social impacts on a scale of 0-10.

The Business Roundtable published a document that laid the foundation for the Davos Manifesto 2020, focusing on the universal purpose of a company in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The SEC's investment committee decided to establish a framework for consistent and comparable ESG information disclosure without relying on third-party rating agencies. This move aims to provide investors with reliable data for making investment and voting decisions.

ESG programs, focusing on environmental, social, and governance aspects, have gained momentum in corporations due to increasing natural disasters, income inequalities, and healthcare issues highlighted by COVID-19.

Stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance factors, highlighting the importance of sustainability and ethical practices in business operations.

In episode 231 of the ENGAGE Podcast, the importance of ESG in nonprofits is discussed. The podcast highlights the benefits and significance of incorporating ESG principles in the nonprofit sector.

Tesla was removed from the S&P 500 ESG Index due to a 'rebalance' and its decline in criteria level scores related to low carbon energy and codes of business conduct. This decision was influenced by various factors including the company's handling of safety investigations and allegations of racial discrimination.

On July 7, 2023, an update was made to the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) risk overview.

On March 6, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) implemented new rules to improve and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies. These rules were developed over a two-year period to ensure consistency in how companies provide climate-related information to investors.

IBM assists organizations in addressing the SEC's climate disclosure regulations through a comprehensive approach.

Part 2 of a series discussing the challenges energy utility companies face as they shift to holistic grid asset management to manage through the energy transition.