Working in ESG can mean helping address some of the biggest problems humanity has ever faced, but there are questions over whether the sector is caring for itself enough in order to keep up the good work.
Changes in ESG investing are fast. In just the past few years, professionals have tackled rapid development in regulation, mounting consumer pressure, heightened client demand, rising litigation and global crises including a pandemic and war.
From that perspective, it is not surprising the term ‘ESG burnout’ is being discussed more frequently.
Quilter Investors’ head of responsible investment Eimear Toomey says she has heard discussions around ESG burnout and recently shared her own experience of struggling with a deep connection to the issue of climate change with ESG Clarity. Toomey decided to enrol in an academic course on the subject in order to understand it better, but soon found the picture the science painted was affecting her emotionally.
“I found it difficult to switch off and I almost felt guilty if I wasn’t researching or doing something, because I realised how pressing climate action is right now, and also began to comprehend the gap between government action and where we need to get to,” says Toomey.
Read the full article in ESG Clarity’s March 2022 digital magazine.
