In the past 18 months, many companies have significantly retreated from their sustainability commitments. High-profile examples include Tractor Supply Co., which eliminated jobs focused on diversity and withdrew its carbon-emissions goals, and Canada’s major oil sands companies, which removed decarbonization goals from their websites. Nike and others have similarly reduced their sustainability efforts. This trend is largely driven by political opposition to ESG initiatives, underperformance of ESG funds, and challenges in justifying sustainability investments due to intangible benefits. To counter this retreat, companies must replace unrealistic targets with meaningful actions, rethink supplier relationships, rebalance investments considering future ecological costs, and reshape governance structures to ensure accountability and expertise in sustainability initiatives.
