每日外刊精读2021年 (每日外刊双语版)

背景知识

ESG是环境、社会和治理的缩写,是一种关注企业环境、社会、治理绩效的投资理念和企业评价标准。通过ESG绩效,能评估企业在促进经济可持续发展、履行社会责任方面的贡献。

ESG的内容涵盖较广泛。环境方面(E),指碳排放、环境政策、废物污染及管理政策、能源使用及管理、自然资源消耗及管理、生物多样性、合规性等;社会方面(S),指性别平衡、*权人**政策、社团、健康安全、管理培训、劳动规范、产品责任、合规性等;治理方面(G),指公司治理、贪污受贿处理、反不正当竞争、风险管理、税收透明、公平的劳动实践、道德行为准则、合规性等。

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Three letters that won’t save the planet

三个不能拯救地球的字母

If you are the type of person who is loth to invest in firms that pollute the planet, mistreat workers and stuff their boards with cronies, you will no doubt be aware of one of the hottest trends in finance: environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. It is an attempt to make capitalism work better and deal with the grave threat posed by climate change. It has ballooned in recent years; the titans of investment management claim that more than a third of their assets, or $35trn in total, are monitored through one ESG lens or another. It is on the lips of bosses and officials everywhere.

如果你是那种不愿投资污染地球、虐待工人、董事会中充斥着亲信的公司的人,毫无疑问,你会注意到金融领域最热门的趋势之一:环境、社会和治理(ESG)投资。它试图让资本主义更好地运转,并应对气候变化带来的严重威胁。它在最近几年迅速膨胀;投资管理巨头们声称,他们超过三分之一的资产,或总计35万亿美元,通过一个或另一个ESG透镜来监视。ESG投资在各地的老板和官员的嘴边流传。

You might hope that big things would come from this. You would be wrong. Sadly those three letters have morphed into shorthand for hype and controversy. Right-wing American politicians blame a “climate cartel” for soaring prices at the petrol pump. Whistleblowers accuse the industry of “greenwashing” by deceiving its clients. Firms from Goldman Sachs to Deutsche Bank face regulatory probes. As our special report this week concludes, although ESG is often well-meaning it is deeply flawed. It risks setting conflicting goals for firms, fleecing savers and distracting from the vital task of tackling climate change. It is an unholy mess that needs to be ruthlessly streamlined.

你可能希望这会带来大的事情。你错了。可悲的是,这三个字母已经演变成了炒作和争议的代名词。美国右翼政客指责“气候卡特尔”导致汽油价格飙升。举报人指责该行业通过欺骗客户进行“漂绿”。从高盛到德意志银行等公司都面临着监管调查。正如我们本周的特别报道所总结的那样,尽管ESG通常是善意的,但它存在严重缺陷。它有可能为企业设定相互冲突的目标,敲诈储户,并分散人们对应对气候变化这一重要任务的注意力。这是一个邪恶的烂摊子,需要被无情地精简。

The term ESG dates as far back as 2004. The idea is that investors should evaluate firms based not just on their commercial performance but also on their environmental and social record and their governance, typically using numerical scores. Several forces have thrust it into the mainstream.

ESG一词可以追溯到2004年。其理念是,投资者不仅应根据企业的商业表现,还应根据其环境和社会记录以及治理情况(通常使用数字评分)来评估企业。几股力量将其推入主流。

今日单词

  • loth /loʊθ/ adj. 不愿意的(等于 loath);勉强的;憎恶的;
  • mistreat /ˌmɪsˈtriːt/ vt. 虐待;
  • stuff /stʌf/ vt. 塞进,填进;填满,装满;填作料,填馅;
  • crony /ˈkroʊni/ n. 密友;好朋友;
  • capitalism /ˈkæpɪtəlɪzəm/ n. 资本主义;
  • grave /ɡreɪv/ adj. 严峻的,严重的;严肃的,庄重的;
  • balloon /bəˈluːn/ vt. 激增;突然长胖;膨胀,鼓起来;
  • titan /ˈtaɪtn/ n. 巨人;提坦;太阳神;
  • lens /lenz/ n. 透镜,镜片;(相机的)镜头;(眼球的)晶状体;隐形眼镜;
  • lip /lɪp/ n. 嘴唇;(伤口或洞口)边缘;容器边缘,开口;
  • morph /mɔːrf/ vi.(使)图像变形;将(图像)进行合成处理;改变,变化,变形;
  • shorthand /ˈʃɔːrthænd/ n. 速记(法);简略的表达方式;
  • hype /haɪp/ n. 大肆的宣传广告,炒作;(为做广告而进行的)欺骗;
  • cartel /kɑːrˈtel/ n. 卡特尔;企业联合;垄断联盟;俘虏交换条约;
  • whistleblower /ˈhwɪsəlˌbloər/ n. 告发者,检举者,吹哨者;
  • greenwashing /ɡˈrinwɑːʃɪŋ/ n. 漂绿(组织以某些行为宣示自身对环保的付出,实际上却反其道而行);
  • well-meaning /ˌwel ˈmiːnɪŋ/ adj. 善意的;好心的;
  • fleece /fliːs/ vt. 敲诈,骗取钱财;
  • unholy /ʌnˈhoʊli/ adj. 不神圣的;罪恶的;不适宜的;
  • ruthlessly /ˈruːθləsli/ adv. 无情地;残忍地;冷酷地;
  • streamline /ˈstriːmlaɪn/ vt. 精简(工商企业、组织、流程等)使效率更高;使……成为流线型;
  • thrust /θrʌst/ vt. 猛推,猛塞;刺,扎;

素材来源

文本选自:The Economist(经济学人)

作者:Unknown

原文发布时间:23 Jul. 2022

每日美句

Victory won’t come to me unless I go to it.

胜利是不会向我们走来的,我必须自己走向胜利。