I don't know the answer to that query but it's an interesting question. One proof point to support the idea that the US is a laggard can be found when you examine the 19 companies that make up the
supersector leaders of the respected Dow Jones Sustainability Index. If you look at the list, there is not ONE US company among the leaders. About 58% of the supersector leaders come from Europe, with the UK, Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, all with multiple representation.
Given that the US is the largest economy in the world, it's obviously not an issue in that we don't have enough potential candidates, so what could be the answer(?)
Maybe the European companies are just more focused on sustainability than their US counterparts? Maybe there are some statistical explanations for this related to sample size, etc. The research firm for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index - SAM is based in Switzerland so does that somehow affect the rankings?
What do you think? Is this a statistical anomaly or is something really there and US companies need to improve to catch up with their EU counterparts?
