Alex Edmans discusses rational sustainability and why ESG creates such consternation

Alex Edmans, professor of finance at London Business School, speaks with Rumi Mahmood, the MSCI Sustainability Institute’s research director, about the importance of rationality in sustainable investing and the need for clarity in the creation of long-term value.
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Key moments in this video
0:00 Intro and definition of rational sustainability
2:18 Two problems with ESG
3:28 How the objectives of ESG might conflict with one another
5:45 Where irrationality emerges from
7:00 Measuring diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
9:08 How regulation may contribute to irrationality
11:49 The problem of too much information
13:43 Industry specificity and financial materiality
15:01 Differences in attitudes toward ESG in the U.S. and Europe
16:54 The creation of long-term value
17:47 The problem of getting too carried away
18:51 Two papers on sustainable finance that Professor Edmans would want if stranded on a desert island