Companies’ mentions of green and social initiatives during earnings calls have fallen off sharply in recent quarters, reversing a more boastful approach taken over the past few years amid intensifying pressure from some investors and conservative activists. Take electronic-signature firm DocuSign, where Chief Financial Officer Cynthia Gaylor in March 2022 said the company achieved carbon-neutral status during the year ended that January. Gaylor, who is set to step down as CFO on June 15, at the time said the company was continuing its efforts to reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050. The company’s executives haven’t mentioned sustainability initiatives, carbon-neutral status or net-zero emissions on its earnings calls since. A DocuSign spokeswoman didn’t comment on why executives haven’t discussed such topics on recent earnings calls, but said the company continues to make investments in its environmental, social and governance programs and regularly updates investors and customers on its initiatives. Read More.
