The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that we may have seen "peak ESG," which makes you wonder why Teck Resources is selling its cash-cow coal division. The Globe's Eric Reguly writes that many resource giants and the funds that invest in befouled industries seem to be reversing course on the catch-all for good environmental, social and governance policies. Investing on ESG principles became a phenomenon in recent years, with investors gravitating toward businesses that were trying to reduce their destructive impact on the planet. Now they are quietly painting themselves a lighter shade of green and are not getting punished for doing so. Teck argues that copper is its future. As a purer critical metals company, Teck expects its shares to benefit from a big value bump. The company argues that while coal generates a lot of cash, it does not necessarily generate shareholder value. Miners that are reducing or eliminating their fossil fuel assets trade at higher multiples than those stuffed with the grubby bits -- but the value spread has narrowed recently. Mr. Reguly is betting that Glencore sticks with coal and that Teck's dreams of lavish multiples when it sheds its coal business do not come to pass.