At U.S. S&P 500 firms, research shows more executive bonuses are being tied to ESG

Good morning. Some of the largest U.S. companies may be hesitant in using the term ESG due to recent pushback, but executive bonuses are increasingly being tied to supporting environmental, social, and governance principles—including at top firms like Nike, Chipotle, and Mastercard.

Seventy-six percent of U.S.-based S&P 500 companies reported in 2023 proxies incorporating at least one ESG metric into executive incentive plans, according to newly released research by Willis Towers Watson (WTW). This is an increase from 69% the previous year and 60% in 2021, meanwhile in Europe the prevalence of ESG metrics has increased from 90% to 93% year over year.

Some U.S. companies might not use the ESG label because they view it as counterproductive, Ken Kuk, senior director of work and rewards at WTW, told me. Meanwhile, he added, other companies may fully support using the term "and even for the companies that want to address some of that sensitivity in the market, what we're seeing is that they're still looking at how these things connect to the business and drive value."

In determining the connection to bonuses, companies rely on a mix of empirical ESG goals and qualitative assessments, according to WTW. The median weighting of ESG metrics (collectively when more than one is used) is, on average, 20% in the U.S. and Europe.

“Let's say a hypothetical executive makes $100,000 in salary and $100,000 in bonuses,” Kuk explained. “Usually the 20% of the ESG metric is in the bonus.”

For example, a company may set a goal to increase the representation of women in leadership by 10%. “If you come in at 10%, usually you retain that 20% of your bonus, and get that $20,000 payout,” Kuk said. If the company only reaches 5% on women representation, then the executive might only receive $10,000.

The research found that 70% of S&P 500 firms now include at least one human capital metric in their executive incentive plans. Categories within this metric include diversity, equity, and inclusion, talent management, and employee engagement, among others. Over the past three years, the use of environmental metrics rose from 12% to 44% in the U.S. while, across all markets, carbon emission reduction is by far the most prevalent environmental metric, WTW found.

To conduct the research, WTW reviewed public disclosures from 1,146 companies listed in the S&P 500, TSX 60 in Canada, nine major European indices, and the largest companies across seven markets in the Asia Pacific region.

Companies, Kuk told me, are continually examining ESG categories and incentives, with top C-suite leadership always trying to answer the question: "What is actually going to be impactful to our business long term?”

Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com