ESG

E1S1G2

Initialism of environmental/ethical, social and corporate governance.

Less commonFirst used 2004Scrabble 4

Meanings

nounESG (countable and uncountable, plural ESGs)

plural ESGs

  1. abbreviationinitialismuncountablebusinessInitialism of environmental/ethical, social and corporate governance.First known use 2004

    ESG funds

    4 more examples

    Advisers are encouraged to engage with their clients on ESG issues rather than merely regard ESG matters as a discrete checkbox compliance requirement.

    2013, Benjamin J. Richardson, Fiduciary Law and Responsible Investing: In Nature’s trust, Routledge, →ISBN

    New firms like Arabesque are making ESG data a core part of their strategy. Goldman Sachs has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to start an ESG-focused exchange-traded fund.

    2016 April 6, David Gelles, “Investing With a Conscience, but Done by a Robot”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 07 Apr 2016

    Much of this year’s letter was devoted to Mr. Fink’s belief that a focus on environmental, social and corporate governance issues — E.S.G., for short — does not conflict with making money.

    2022 January 18, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Michael J. de la Merced, “It’s Not ‘Woke’ for Businesses to Think Beyond Profit, BlackRock Chief Says”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 18 Jan 2022

    In a shift in tone from his previously more strident embrace of ESG, Fink emphasised that clients were responsible for their own investment decisions.

    2023 April 29, Kenza Bryan, “US investors ditch green funds on ‘woke capitalism’ backlash”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 14
  2. abbreviationcountableinitialismbusinessInitialism of economic scenario generator.
  3. abbreviationinitialismuncountablebroadcastingInitialism of electronic sports gathering.

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

ESG. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ESG

MLA

“ESG.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ESG. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ESG,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ESG.

Source: ESG on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.