SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGIES
Anybody working in sustainability knows that 2025 has been a bumpy ride. The inauguration of US President Donald Trump was followed by intense pressure on companies to ditch DEI policies – and a renewed focus on oil and gas in the US.
For some,‘ sustainability’ has become a four-letter word. And that seemed to be supported by a 52 % fall in the number of sustainability reports published in H1 by the 3,000 largest US companies.
During this period, 432 companies in the Russell 3000 index filed a sustainability report, according to The Conference Board.
That is a 52 % drop compared to the same period in 2024, when 831 companies had done so.
Adobe, GM, Citi and Uber were among those delaying their sustainability report publication amid regulatory and political shifts.
A‘ strategic recalibration’? Issuing annual sustainability reports has become a well-established practice for corporates, enabling transparency around ESG performance.
Yet, in the first half of 2025, US public companies showed a sharp decline in voluntary sustainability filings, marking a change in ESG communications strategy.
However, experts are not interpreting this as a mass withdrawal from ESG principles. Instead, it is being described as a“ strategic recalibration”.
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