When did ESG become a thing?

ESG as a term originated in 2004, when the United Nations Global Compact published "Who Cares Wins" - a report that first brought the acronym into mainstream use. The initiative was led by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who invited major financial institutions to integrate environmental, social and governance factors into capital markets.

In 2006, the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) launched, embedding ESG criteria into investment analysis and ownership practices. Development began in 2005 with institutional investor sign-on.

Related ideas - socially responsible investing, corporate governance reform, environmental risk assessment - predate the term by decades. But 2004-2005 marked the point where these concerns were unified under a single framework and adopted by institutional investors at scale.

ESG has since grown from a niche concept into a global regulatory standard driving trillions in investment decisions and mandatory corporate disclosures.