On 11 November 2024, COP29 kicked off, marking the start of the year’s most hotly anticipated gathering of global powers. In 2024, climate change is higher on the global agenda than ever before. But in an exceptional year of elections, there has been much uncertainty around the future of ESG. GlobalData’s ESG sentiment polls reflect this turbulence. Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election will further compound this chaos and scepticism towards ESG.
Perception has taken a tumble
In Q3 2024, sentiment towards corporate ESG took a hit, with both awareness of and faith in ESG policies plummeting. GlobalData’s Strategic Intelligence runs a set of polls each quarter assessing the business community’s sentiment toward corporate ESG. These polls are spread across GlobalData’s network of B2B media sites—which boasted more than ten million unique viewers in Q3 2024.
A dramatic revelation from Q3 2024’s polling was that more respondents than ever before viewed ESG as mere marketing. When asked if they thought the business community was fully committed to improving its ESG performance, 60% of participants answered that, for most companies, ESG is just a marketing exercise. This is the highest proportion to respond in this way since polling began in Q1 2021. While these polls are anonymous—meaning we have no idea if these respondents have any influence over ESG policymaking—they still suggest that the general perception of environmental action is negative. And it is getting worse.
Government and legislative pressure are driving ESG action
Another notable result of GlobalData’s Q3 2024 ESG sentiment polls is that ‘legislation and government pressure’ was crowned the primary reason why a company should adopt an ESG performance plan. The other potential reasons that fell short of government pressure include a desire to improve financial performance; pressure from consumers; pressure from investors; and pressure from workers. Government pressure topped the poll with 40% of respondents citing it as the primary driver of corporate ESG action. The prominence of environmental legislation in participants’ minds is easily explained by the sheer number of acts and bills that have been passed into law.
The EU is prolific in this department. Its corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD) has (almost) passed into common parlance, as every company operating within its borders will have to publish emissions data. The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is another big piece of environmental legislation that will impact many companies. This requires any company importing products that involve cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, or wood to prove that no part of their supply chain contributed to deforestation, anywhere in the world. In August 2024, the EU’s new methane regulation came into force, requiring stringent reporting of methane emissions from coal mines.
Other parts of the world have also seen a spurt of ESG-related legislation in Q3 2024. In July, South Africa passed the Climate Change Act to enable a nationwide, long-term transition to net zero. In September, Australia passed a bill that legally requires companies to disclose the climate risks they face.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataA reliance on the government is worrying for self-sufficient sustainability
The increasing prominence of ESG-related legislation is one explanation for the results of this poll—but a less generous one might be that companies are only drawing up ESG plans because they are being forced to. This has some very worrying implications, especially in light of the recent US presidential election result. With Trump back in the White House, it is unlikely there will be any serious progress on government-level climate action. He described climate change as a “big hoax” and his stance on the matter does not seem to have changed since he pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement in 2020.
The US often leads the way on major issues like climate change, so other countries around the world may also lessen their commitments to environmental action if Trump makes the first move. If the result of this poll—namely that legislation and government pressure are the primary reasons for setting up an ESG plan—really does mean that companies only engage in ESG because they are forced to, then the outcome of this election threatens the entire transition to net zero.
