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According to the newly released Sustainability Leaders 2024 Survey, over 8 in 10 sustainability experts in North America (83 percent) claim there is a backlash against the sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda in their country today. In Europe, nearly 6 in 10 experts (59 percent) are also seeing a backlash, while sustainability professionals in other regions are seeing far less resistance to sustainability.
Experts worldwide are also split on how much this backlash will slow down the transition to sustainability in the next few years, if at all. Those based in North America, Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean are much more likely to say that the backlash will slow down the transition than those based in Asia-Pacific and in Africa and the Middle East.
The GlobeScan / ERM Sustainability Institute Leaders Survey captures the perspectives of almost 500 sustainability experts in 65 countries worldwide on the priorities and forces shaping the sustainable development agenda. The survey explores sustainability leadership across governments, nongovernmental organizations, and companies and tracks priority issues and the most important recent developments.
What does this mean?
With sustainability and ESG becoming political flashpoints in North America, global organizations must navigate an increasingly complex environment with their stakeholders in the region. In this context, organizations should prioritize the fundamentals by focusing on the business case of sustainability (as a driver of business value, innovation and resilience), debunking myths with evidence when they arise, and continuing to engage with policymakers and standard-setters to drive the sustainability agenda forward. Finally, while pressure on the ESG/sustainability agenda in North America is strong, it is important to remember that this is not the case in all other regions.
Read more about what’s affecting the sustainability agenda in our Sustainability Leaders 2024 report.
Survey Question: How significant do you think the current backlash against the sustainability agenda (including ESG) is in your country? “Very significant,” “Somewhat significant,” “Not very significant,” “There is no backlash”
Source: 2024 GlobeScan / ERM Sustainability Institute Leaders Survey of 484 experts representing business, government, NGOs and academia across 65 countries from April to May
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