Welcome back. One argument in favor of improving the diversity of corporate management teams doesn't relate to a sense of justice and fairness but to performance: Diverse leadership teams, this argument goes, are better at making money. 

A study published last month in the journal Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management reviewed a stack of evidence for and against the diversity-boosts-performance theory. The authors, from the universities of Catania and Messina in Italy, then added to the stack with their own effort to test the theory with data.

Restricting their focus to gender diversity, the researchers analyzed how the proportion of women in management positions affected the performance of banks around the world between 2011 and 2019. They weren't interested just in financial results, but also in how gender balance affects social performance (as measured by Refinitiv data on the banks' engagement with stakeholders) and environmental performance (based on whether the banks have climate-change policies). 

The findings. The researchers said the data showed that having more female directors tended to increase banks' financial performance, social performance and environmental performance. But the same wasn't true when they looked at the narrower pool of banks' top management teams, where having more women was associated with better social performance, but not improvements in financial or environmental outcomes. The writers also noted some limitations of their survey. For instance, it didn't account for variables such as age, culture, nationality and education. 

This week: AT&T pushes 5G's climate benefits; Treasury weighs in on insurers' climate risks; Allbirds plans IPO. 

Companies make EEOC diversity disclosures public. Since 1966, companies with 100 or more employees have had to disclose information about the gender and ethnic makeup of their workforces to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The number of big public companies making that information public is rising amid pressure from investors to show progress on diversity issues. The disclosures—called EEO-1 reports—show how many men and women of different ethnicities are employed across 10 job categories, such as “laborers and helpers,” “professionals” and “executive/senior officials.” 

AT&T touts green benefits. AT&T says advanced 5G wireless technology—which it sells—can help companies cut their carbon emissions. The telecom giant's sustainability chief, Charlene Lake, says the company cut its own electricity use by about 10% and saved millions of dollars through measures such as using connected-device technology to monitor and manage energy consumption. The company set a target of helping businesses cut 1 gigaton of emissions by 2035.

Insurance risk. In a week that saw insurers start to tally the cost from Hurricane Ida, the Treasury Department said it would seek public input on the effects of natural disasters and other climate-related risks to the insurance industry. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called climate change “an existential risk to our future economy and way of life.”

Public health. The Department of Health and Human Services set up a new office whose mission is “to protect the health of people experiencing a disproportionate share of climate impacts and health inequities from wildfires to drought, to hurricanes to floods,” according to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. Officials said one of the first tasks for the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity would be to take stock of healthcare's greenhouse gas emissions. 

Clean-energy costs. Democrats are eyeing a target of generating 80% of electricity from clean sources by 2030 as part of a budget proposal backed by the White House and congressional Democrats. Jim Fitterling, chief executive of chemicals giant Dow, warned that excluding natural gas from the mix would push up prices. 

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Allbirds brings sustainability focus to IPO. Allbirds, whose woollen sneakers gained popularity in Silicon Valley, filed for an initial public offering. The company, which is launching a new line of athletic gear made of merino wool and yarn created from the pulp of eucalyptus trees, said it is committing to addressing environmental issues such as land and energy use and reporting on its progress.

A new international agency is being set up to standardize sustainability-related corporate disclosures. Competition is heating up over where it should be based. (Reuters) 

Scotland's malt whiskey makers largely run their operations on oil. The Bruichladdich distillery on the island of Islay is trying to shift to hydrogen. (The Guardian) 

Former Adidas brand chief Eric Liedtke is launching a zero-waste, zero-plastic streetwear brand. (Business of Fashion) 

The number of funding deals by climate-tech startups rose 50% year-over-year in the first half of 2021. (Climate Tech VC) 

Boston Consulting Group will stop flying prospective graduate hires across Europe to be wined and dined, a move aimed at cutting emissions. (FT) 

Economists found that home prices in parts of Florida most exposed to sea-level rise have fallen relative to other parts of the state since 2018, a disconnect they suggest may reflect buyers' concerns about climate change. (Forbes)

Maersk's purchase of methanol-powered container ships can be seen as a wager that big clients are serious about cutting supply-chain emissions. (Quartz) 

We would like to hear your tips, suggestions and feedback.

This newsletter was written by Ed Ballard.

Contact the WSJ ESG research team at ESGresearch@wsj.com