Bill Gates says 'innovation' is the most important part of corporate sustainability measures

This week, the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist shared his thoughts on the idea that companies are overdoing their commitment to environmental, social and governance (ESG) values ​​in an interview with CNBC.

Alex Wong and Getty Images Bill Gates in Washington, DC in 2019 speaking about climate change. help fight - that is, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

"The part I believe in is where you accelerate innovation. To me, it's not so much who you don't invest in but who you invest in," Gates told CNBC.

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Gates is also the creator of Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate venture, which he launched in 2015.

The idea of ​​"ESG" funds, which are supposed to focus on environmental or social objectives, has recently gained ground.

He notably publicly criticized a leading ESG index after he cut his company, Tesla, (which was linked to factors including allegations of racism at its factories), but retained six oil companies .

The also recently proposed rules to increase requirements on funds that claim to have a certain objective, such as ESG funds, and more regulations for ESG in particular.

Gates seemed to push back against the idea that the requirements are worth fussing over, although he acknowledged there is a lot of “controversy” about how to measure whether a company meets environmental requirements.

"The whole measure is a bit immature," he said. "The field will mature on this."

The SEC has proposed that investment funds that name themselves in a specific way (such as an ESG fund) must devote at least 80% of their money to this objective (previously this was just a suggestion) for example.

"There's a way to measure it, and it should be one of the things people consider when investing in companies," Gates said, adding that "many investors really want to get" information on incentives for sustainable development. .