In its 31st annual survey, the Corporate Practice Commentator invited corporate and securities scholars to select the ten most distinguished articles published in 2024. From over 300 eligible works, Professor Elizabeth Pollman’s “The Making and Meaning of ESG” (Harvard Business Law Review) was elected to the Top Ten—her eighth recognition on this list in eight years.
Founded in 1994, the Corporate Practice Commentator’s poll has become a benchmark for scholarship that advances understanding of corporate and securities law. Professor Pollman first appeared on the Top Ten list in 2017.
Prior Recognitions:
2023: “Startup Failure,” Duke Law Journal
2022: “The Supreme Court and the Pro Business Paradox,” Harvard Law Review
2021: “The Corporate Governance Machine,” Columbia Law Review (with Dorothy S. Lund)
2020: “Private Company Lies,” Georgetown Law Journal
2019: “Startup Governance,” University of Pennsylvania Law Review
2019: “Corporate Disobedience,” Duke Law Journal
2017: “Regulatory Entrepreneurship,” USC Law Review (with Jordan M. Barry)
About “The Making and Meaning of ESG”
In this rigorous study, Pollman traces the origins and evolution of the term ESG (environmental, social, and governance). She advances three principal contributions:
Historical accountA detailed history of how the term ESG was coined without a precise definition in a collaboration between the United Nations and major players in the financial industry to pursue wide-ranging goals.
Usage surveyAn examination of the varied applications of the term that have developed since its origins—from factors for investment analysis and a tool for risk management to a value laden notion of ideological preferences or a synonym for corporate responsibility and sustainability.
Critical appraisal
An analysis of ESG’s promises and perils, identifying challenges such as inconsistent ratings, greenwashing risks, and irreconcilable trade-offs (e.g., carbon reduction versus labor interests).
Pollman argues that ESG’s definitional flexibility underpins its widespread adoption—directing trillions of dollars into ESG labeled assets—while also provoking critiques concerning conceptual ambiguity, inflated expectations, and regulatory complexity.
Elizabeth Pollman is Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Institute for Law & Economics. A recognized authority on corporate law, governance, startups, venture capital, and entrepreneurship, she is co-author of Business Organizations: A Contemporary Approach and co-editor of the Research Handbook on Corporate Purpose and Personhood. She serves on the American Bar Association’s Corporate Laws Committee and is a research member of the European Corporate Governance Institute. Her pedagogical achievements include the Harvey Levin Memorial Award and the LLM Prize for Excellence in Teaching.
Original source can be found here.