But Mahaffy's research found that it is not necessarily because companies have leaned away from socially conscious strategies. Instead, she pointed a growing use of the term "sustainability," as well as other words like "climate" or "decarbonization" that fall under the ESG umbrella. It comes at a time when ESG has become increasingly fraught in the political sphere. Mahaffry noted that areas like the U.S. where ESG has received the most scrutiny have seen the biggest drops in use of the term on earnings calls. On WestRock's earnings call earlier this month, Sewell told listeners: "This is just one example of many of how WestRock's unique capabilities position us for growth."

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Persons: —, Sara Mahaffy, ESG, it's, Williams, Alan Armstrong, Peter Vanacker, David Gitlin, Marvin Ellison, Joseph Dominguez, Dominguez, Robert Venkat Pragada, Whitney, REI, Satya Nadella, David Sewell, Sewell, Michael Bloom Organizations: RBC Capital, LyondellBasell Industries, Carrier, Constellation Energy, Engineering, Jacobs Solutions, Pratt, Microsoft, Sustainability, Costco Locations: U.S, ESG