Businesses that adopt a sustainable mindset are not seeing their efforts reflected in their company valuations, Sasja Beslik, chief investment strategy officer at SDG Impact Japan, has told the Athens ESG Forum.
At the fifth edition of the Athens ESG Forum, which took place at the Eugenides Foundation Amphitheatre and welcomed over 70 speakers and more than 300 attendees, Beslik presented findings from a new study entitled Who’s Getting Paid for Sustainability – And Who Isn’t?
The study found that 97% of Sweden’s largest listed companies do not receive financial benefits in return for strong ESG performance, with the market failing to reflect sustainability efforts in valuations, according to the Sustainability-Weighted Market Capitalisation (SWMC) model developed by Beslik.
‘Too elitist’
“Sustainability has become too elitist,” he commented, “when it should be reframed as a political economy project with a positive, inclusive narrative that resonates with the broader public.”
In other words, sustainability, as it is implemented today, is a sort of ‘green alpha’, which is not priced into the market, and therefore not working as well as it should.
Athens ESG Forum
The Athens ESG Forum featured keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, and live demonstrations, with topics covering the evolving landscape of ESG, challenging established conventions, and the need for a fresh approach to sustainability leadership.
The Forum included sessions on evolving EU regulatory frameworks, the role of digital technologies in supporting sustainability, and the inclusion of small and medium enterprises in climate finance.
Discussions also focused on the emergence of new leadership practices in the era of artificial intelligence, and the importance of rethinking ESG as a driver of real, shared value, rather than just a reporting exercise.
The event was held under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy, and took place on 26 June in Athens. Read more here.
