The development and standardization of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria for enterprise management and investment decisions has been years in the making. But, to many observers, it feels as though their advent on the corporate agenda and subsequent incorporation into enterprise performance measurement, management, reporting and verification processes have occurred in the blink of an eye. Such an impression is understandable.

The construction of metaphorical ESG information edifices in the United States and elsewhere is indeed accelerating, and the contours and features of their component parts are growing increasingly sophisticated.