ESG stands for Environmental Social and Governance, and refers to the three key factors when measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of an investment in a business or company. ESG is a generic term used in capital markets and commonly used by investors to evaluate the behavior of companies, as well as determining their future financial performance. The Environmental Social and Governance factors are a subset of non-financial performance indicators which include ethical, sustainable and corporate government issues such as making sure there are systems in place to ensure accountability and managing the corporation’s carbon footprint.   ESG’s three central factors are:Environmental criteria, which examines how a business performs as a steward of our natural environment, focusing on:waste and pollutionresource depletiongreenhouse gas emissiondeforestationclimate change  Social criteria, which looks at how the company treats people, and concentrates on:employee relations & diversityworking conditions, including child labor and slaverylocal communities; seeks explicitly to fund projects or institutions that will serve poor and underserved communities globallyhealth and safetyconflict  Governance criteria, which examines how a corporation polices itself – how the company is governed, and focuses on:tax strategyexecutive remunerationdonations and political lobbyingcorruption and briberyboard diversity and structure Disclaimer Our content is not in any way legal advice or binding. The information provided by might not be the official legal or full definition. Also when pursuing a specific transaction you are encouraged to conduct your own due diligence and to consult legal counsel as appropriate.