Our thinking

Charting a path forward from this week’s election result

8 November, 2024

It is hard to make sense of events in their immediate aftermath and many of us are struggling to organise our thoughts in the face of Trump’s resounding victory this week. But it seems clear that the legislative lines in the US will shift. The carrots and sticks for business will no longer promote climate action and a just transition. And it is highly likely that the new cultural hegemony will add considerable further fire to the existing ESG backlash. It is perhaps inevitable that some companies will take the opportunity to step backwards. And the number willing to put their voice to counter positions will decline. 

But we think, hope and believe that the sustainability movement will withstand this.  

There is solace to be found in recent history. In Trump’s first term, the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements gathered force, and sales of plug-in and hybrid cars tripled in America. Wind generation also soared despite Trump’s claim that windmills cause cancer. And progressive businesses remained a powerful force – let’s not forget that it was in 2019 that the US Business Roundtable redefined the purpose of a corporation as being to create value for all stakeholders. 

In more recent years the infrastructure around sustainability has grown ever stronger. From the SBTi to CSRD to B Corp, accountability is increasingly built into corporate action. Initiatives such as these embed a long-term view into the mandate for change, that runs far beyond a four-year term. And the nature, scale and urgency of the issues they are designed to address demand generational thinking. 

This is not to suggest that nothing will change, or that the path forward will be at all easy. There is an enormous amount to fear.  

But we hold on to the fact that business retains the power to create change. Brands can continue to find positive ways forward that connect with, inspire and empower their consumers. And the fact that companies are more intertwined with the broader prosperity of people and the planet than ever before creates its own inexorable logic, particularly given the degree to which this hangs in the balance, and as the timescale for action grows ever tighter. 

The drawing of this dividing line in the political sand may also provide additional impetus and motivation for those who disagree, driving them to move loudly in the opposite direction. When Trump last withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, many companies signed up to the principles to prove to the world that their values had not changed 

So we look to our colleagues, clients, partners and friends to continue the battle with energy and force. We are open and up for forging new coalitions and creating alternative levers for change. And to working together to continue to search for creative, sensitive and meaningful ways to show how business can transform an ever-changing world. 

By Larissa Persons