New regulations like climate disclosure rules are driving sustainability progress, experts say. However, this progress faces a significant backlash, particularly in North America, raising concerns about slowing the transition to a greener future
Research from the ERM Sustainability Institute and GlobeScan reveals that new legislation, such as the SEC climate disclosure rules and EU Green Deal, has been the most significant sustainability development in the past 12 months.
According to the Sustainability Leaders 2024 Survey, one-third of experts (33 percent) point to legislative action as the top sustainability breakthrough. New sustainability disclosure standards are cited by one-fifth (19 percent) of experts. Actions around climate and nature, as well as renewables and low-carbon initiatives, are considered the most significant developments by 13 percent and 9 percent of sustainability experts, respectively.
Despite these positive developments, more than half of sustainability experts surveyed (57 percent) claim there is a significant backlash against the sustainability agenda, including ESG, with over eight in ten North American experts (83 percent) saying this is the case. Furthermore, over half (52 percent) of the experts surveyed globally believe that this backlash will slow the transition to sustainability in the next few years.
Forest products and life sciences are the sectors rated most positively in terms of how they are managing the transition to sustainability. In contrast, the chemicals and extractive sectors are seen to be performing worse than they did a decade ago.
Assessing the business landscape, over one-third of experts (34 percent) name Patagonia as a corporate sustainability leader. One-quarter of experts (24 percent) name runner-up Unilever, while just over one in ten spontaneously mentioned Natura &Co and IKEA. The top tier of most-recognised sustainability leaders is rounded out by Interface, Danone, Nestlé, Microsoft, Ørsted, Schneider Electric, Tesla, Apple, Amazon, Google, Siemens, and Walmart.
Integration into business strategy is the top reason for corporate sustainability recognition, cited by 24 percent of experts, followed by evidence of impact and action, cited by 16 percent.
Northern European countries are the most recognised leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda, with Sweden named as the leading national government by 28 percent of experts. World Wildlife Fund continues to be the most recognised NGO and is cited as a leader on sustainable development by 40 percent of respondents.