Pakistan seems to be moving on a fast track towards ESG, albeit the authorities are doing so without taking into consideration the ground realities and the desired equilibrium between green and social responsibilities and the prevalent operational realities. Also, a good debate to have would be to prudently assess how big a carbon violator we actually are and the practical room we have to even take some of the compliance initiatives, which would render themselves pointless in the wake of India as a neighbour. The idea is to somehow strike a balance between idealism and realism on ESG. On one side is the conversation about the changing role of corporations in society, where leading and experienced experts like Judy Samuelson talk about how profits may be necessary for companies to survive, but they cannot be a company’s ultimate purpose. Her latest work, “Six New Rules of Business: Creating Real Value in a Changing World”, in which she attempts to challenge how companies ought to define purpose and measure success, has become a must-read for environmentalists. On the other hand, a less idealist side talks about operational sustainability and why the exercise may become self-defeating unless tangible revenues are linked to ESG initiatives — and that too in the immediate term rather than being a future phenomenon. Samuelson’s approach is rather radical, as it not only challenges the very vision and mission of corporates but also aims to defy the traditional ownership structure by putting employees before shareholders. Her argument is based on money being like oxygen — essential, but not the reason why we get up in the morning. Instead,........

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