What's Next, Now: July 2023
This month, our crystal ball predicts ESG disenchantment, rising AI anxiety, broken barriers in sports sponsorship, and more.
Earlier this year, we predicted shifts in the conversation around ESG, including the rise of green-hushing and a growing anti-ESG movement. Now, the movement is continuing to grow — enough that some brands are going back on ESG commitments altogether.
Amazon recently backed out of a commitment to make 50% of its shipments net zero by 2030. The company is still sticking to its pledge to hit net zero across all its operations by 2040. But the loss of a specific pledge to decarbonize its shipments means Amazon is free to continue to build its massive fleet dedicated to ultrafast delivery — an asset that draws millions of consumers to its Prime subscription and emits millions of tons of greenhouse gasses each year.
For most brands, though, it's more of a gradual breakup. A recent survey from Google found that executives are deprioritizing ESG. While sustainability ranked as priority number one in 2022, it fell to third in 2023. The number of sustainability initiatives that have moved beyond the planning phase also shrunk 8%. In total, 6% of companies had no ESG strategy in place and no plans to start one, a 1% bump up from last year.
Though brands may be moving away from sustainability as a focus, consumers are moving in the opposite direction. In Google’s survey, 85% of executives said consumers and clients are becoming more vocal about their preference to engage with sustainable brands. Because of this mounting pressure, executives are playing a little fast and loose with their own ESG data — 59% of executives admitted to overstating or inaccurately representing their own sustainability activities. There is an opportunity for brands that remain steadfast in their commitment to stand out among competitors.