Morgan Stanley shelved a commitment to finance the cleanup and prevention of plastic pollution. It’s not retreating alone.
News surfaced on Sept. 5 that Morgan Stanley had quietly shelved a central pillar of its sustainability strategy: a commitment to finance the cleanup and prevention of plastic pollution. The bank is not alone in its retreat from sustainability promises.
Instead of opening up to investors and clients about the challenges in tackling such a pernicious problem, or revealing the lessons learned in five years of trying, the investment bank simply went silent. The news that the Wall Street giant no longer has an explicit financing goal to tackle plastic only came to light after Bloomberg Green asked the bank why—in contrast with previous versions—there was no mention of its Plastic Waste Resolution in its latest ESG report.
Alastair Marsh, Reporter at Bloomberg, reflects on Morgan Stanley quietly shelving a major sustainability commitment and questions whether it’s possible to have honest conversations about corporate progress on sustainability in today’s volatile political and cultural climate. The discussion raises key concerns: Is it acceptable for companies to admit they won’t meet their sustainability targets? Does this indicate a lack of ambition or unrealistic goal-setting?
This piece explores whether stakeholders and activists will accept the complexity of corporate failures to meet targets due to external factors like consumer demand and government policy, and whether honesty should be rewarded or criticized.
Read the Bloomberg article
