Wall Street Quietly Turns Tail on Its Sustainability Commitments
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.
Photographer: Olivier Morin/AFP
News emerged last week that Morgan Stanley had quietly shelved a central pillar of its sustainability strategy: a commitment to finance the cleanup and prevention of plastic pollution.
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.