For its critics, ESG might as well be a four-letter word.

It represents woke capitalism.

It propels a for-profit nanny state.

Many appear to be talking less about their ESG initiatives, though.

In particular, they said, it’s important for attracting and keeping younger workers.

The company takes back old clothes to be upcycled.

Fisher has even called for consumers to buy fewer clothes.

Fisher said the company’s environmental efforts had helped attract workers.

At the financial giant JPMorgan Chase, Vince Toye leads two divisions focused on affordable housing.

“you’re free to’t simply wish it away,” he said.

“No demagoguing is going to make it go away.”

But, broadly, does anyone care?

ESG doesn’t necessarily draw widespread attention.

The share who said the same in 2021 was 36%.

“This generation is doing it more than previous generations.

“I know when I was looking for jobs, I wasn’t looking for that.

“That’s not the calculus that the younger job applicants are using.”

But because she knew that wasn’t possible, she hesitated, even as her staff grew more excited.

“They were all saying, ‘Let’s do it.

Let’s make it the goal,'” she said.

Fisher, 73, said she pushed aside her initial doubts and agreed they had to try.

They’re the ones the designers love, she said, and that are most sustainable.

Fisher also wants her customers to buy fewer clothes.

Fisher acknowledged the position is tough for a leader of a fashion label to maintain.

“I look at the sales every week,” she said.

“I want to know how are these products being received what are they liking.”

JPMorgan’s Toye, who’s Black, knows how difficult it can be to obtain adequate housing.

He grew up in a small town in Virginia that was essentially segregated.

A big part of Toye’s work now is focusing on so-called workforce housing.

In 2022, Toye started JPMorgan’s first capital-solutions business focused on workforce housing.

For developers, this can help get deals funded and across the finish line.

“There’s no road map, and every deal’s different,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate that thepolitical piecehas come into this,” she said.

Companies that are doing more around climate, for example, aren’t likely to stop, Spadafor said.

“They’ve got investors who are now paying more attention,” she said.

“They’ve got employees who want it, and they’ve got other stakeholders.”

“The grooves are laid,” he said.

“We all have workforce pressures,” he said.

“Knowledge workers they have a lot of choices.”