At the end of 2020, an estimated $38 trillion in assets under management carried the ESG label, an increase of more than 24 percent from 2018. Looking into the future, ESG assets are on track to grow globally to more than $53 trillion by 2025.

This substantial increase is the result of two forces: One is the growth in legitimate responsible issues of securities and loans and demand by responsible investors, but another is the irresponsible or careless labeling of activities as legitimate — essentially abusing the ESG label.