Medicare Begins, Flood Insurance, Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Stranded Assets
Plus a special look at Tulsa Oklahoma's ESG project with private companies and the Red Cross.
Welcome to This Day in ESG History—your daily look at the events that helped shape the principles behind Environmental, Social, and Governance responsibility. It’s July 3, and while much of the world is preparing for celebration or reflection this week, ESG history reminds us that progress doesn’t pause. Today’s milestones come from government policy, environmental protection, human capital strategy, and a unique public-private solution to disaster relief.
Let’s begin with the Environmental front.
On July 3, 1978, the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was reauthorized under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968—an early and underrecognized policy moment in climate risk management. While the NFIP wasn’t initially linked to climate change, today it plays a central role in environmental ESG and climate resilience planning.
The reauthorization that year expanded floodplain mapping, increased risk-based premiums, and began the long conversation around climate-informed insurance reform—a conversation that’s still intensifying. Now, as rising sea levels and storm surges threaten trillions in coastal assets, the NFIP is considered a benchmark for ESG-aligned risk pricing and environmental adaptation policy.
Now, for the Social milestone.
On July 3, 1966, Medicare officially began operation following the passage of the Social Security Amendments of 1965. It was a turning point in American healthcare—providing millions of elderly and disabled citizens with access to essential medical care, and marking a foundational moment in public health equity.
In ESG terms, this is part of the “S” that too often goes unspoken: universal access to healthcare, especially in aging societies. Today, institutional investors and ratings agencies increasingly assess a company’s healthcare benefits, eldercare policies, and post-retirement plans as part of their social responsibility footprint. Medicare wasn't just a policy—it was the launchpad for measuring care as an indicator of national and corporate ethics.
Next up—Governance in practice.
On July 3, 2003, the SEC adopted new rules under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring CEOs and CFOs of publicly traded companies to personally certify the accuracy of financial reports. This was one of the most aggressive governance reforms in U.S. corporate history—and a direct response to the waves of fraud at Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco.
For ESG governance criteria, this rule is essential: executive accountability is not just about compensation or diversity—it’s about integrity in reporting. Transparency, traceability, and signed accountability are the building blocks of trust, and today, we often trace those standards back to this July 3 rule adoption.
Now, let’s turn to our HR ESG Highlight.
On July 3, 2007, IBM launched its “Global Work-Life Integration” strategy, marking one of the first multinational efforts to formally address remote work, caregiver flexibility, and mental health access as part of an enterprise HR strategy.
Long before the pandemic made remote work mainstream, IBM’s policies signaled a new era in employee well-being and work-life sustainability—core components of today’s ESG workforce ratings. Today’s leading ESG-compliant employers now publish data on mental health resources, parental leave, and work-life balance metrics. And July 3, 2007, marked a turning point when human capital strategy began aligning with operational ESG frameworks.
Next, a Public-Private ESG Collaboration you might have missed.
On July 3, 2019, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in partnership with private logistics firms and the Red Cross, launched Project Rebuild—a disaster recovery program for marginalized neighborhoods following historic flooding along the Arkansas River.
This initiative brought together local government, non-profits, freight companies, and university researchers to deliver climate-resilient housing, sustainable infrastructure, and equity-based funding models. It’s a blueprint for ESG disaster response—focusing not just on rebuilding homes, but restoring community capacity and reducing future vulnerability. A true ESG convergence of governance, equity, and environmental planning.
🧠 And now, your ESG Term of the Day…
Today’s term is: Stranded Assets.
Stranded Assets are investments or resources that have lost value prematurely—typically due to shifts in regulation, technology, or market behavior. Think coal-fired power plants in a carbon-regulated world, or water-intensive factories in drought-stricken regions.
In ESG evaluations, stranded asset risk is a major red flag for long-term investors. Companies with heavy exposure to fossil fuels, outdated infrastructure, or water-scarce operations face financial and reputational risks if they don’t evolve with the market. Smart ESG strategy means identifying what might be “valuable today but vulnerable tomorrow.”
That’s a wrap for This Day in ESG History – July 3. From flood insurance to Medicare, from CEO signatures to disaster relief—this day tells us that real responsibility isn’t found in quarterly reports, but in long-term resilience, fairness, and foresight.