The pledge was notable because Fink had become a corporate face of that trend over the last decade thanks to years of annual letters to investors that urged long-term investors to consider responsible ESG practices when evaluating companies.
BlackRock's Larry Fink isn’t the only CEO no longer using the now-controversial acronym ESG.
ESG — which stands for a focus on environmental, social, and corporate governance principles — was mentioned by just 74 S&P 500 companies on corporate conference calls held during the first-quarter earnings season, according to data gathered by FactSet.
That was the lowest count in nearly three years and down from a peak of 156 in the fourth quarter of 2021. Executives are now more likely to mention artificial intelligence (AI), which garnered 110 mentions in calls held from March 15 through June 9.
The ESG mentions could fall again when companies begin to release their second-quarter results in the coming weeks.
Don’t expect to hear the term at all when BlackRock (BLK) reports on July 14. Its boss, Fink, stated recently that he now refuses to say ESG because the term has become "we-ponized" and "misused by the far left and the far right."