The greed-is-good ’80s power brokers are long gone, replaced by a generation of investors that at least present themselves as kinder, gentler and more environmentally and socially conscious.

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But the almighty dollar — maybe a little less than omnipotent now — is still the tool of the trade on Wall Street and the big money players are using their influence to steer companies to a better future with a bit of enlightened self-interest.

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The general idea is simple enough — wrecking the planet and being horrible to people is bad business. It’s a growing realization has been reinforced repeatedly, by the Business Roundtable’s 2019 statement declaring that companies have “a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders,” by a flood of purpose-driven declarations by companies and more.

The zeitgeist has clearly shifted.

And while there are many reasons for companies and investors to take strong stands on environmental, social and governance issues — ESG in investor speak — the feedback loop with Wall Street is based on money, shareholder votes and some personal nudging of management.

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The dollars are big time, big enough that companies that don’t rate high enough on ESG measures are missing out on a giant group of investors.

According to the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, there was $17.1 trillion guided by sustainable investing strategies in the U.S. at the start of 2020, an increase of 42 percent over two years.

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