Is ESG Being Pushed Off the Plate?

At a time when the world is facing another possible El Nino year and governments are fighting against time to fulfill their sustainability commitments, a new survey indicates that all is not as it should be at the corporate level when it comes to ESG norms. At least at the C-suite level, sustainability appears to have slipped in their priority list. 

These were the findings of Google Cloud’s Sustainability Survey for 2023. It says global executives are placing environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts at third place in their list of business priorities. ESG was the top priority of the C-Suite when Google released the same report last year. 

The second annual sustainability survey, conducted by The Harris Poll and sponsored by Google Cloud, surveyed 1,476 top-level executives in 16 countries. The inability to execute, pressured by fewer resources, threatens to compound previous risks, unless executives take the appropriate steps. These include greater accountability, better measurement and management, and well-defined leadership. 

Cash crunch is one of the key reasons

A blog post by Google around the report says a vast majority (85%) of executives acknowledge customers are more likely to engage and do business with sustainable brands, but 78% are now forced to achieve sustainability results on less money than before. 

The motivation is there, with 72% of respondents saying, “Everyone says they want to advance sustainability efforts, but no one knows how to actually do it” — an increase of seven percentage points from last year. With better measurement, clear decision-making and some creativity, companies can better position themselves to progress on their sustainability and business goals. 

However, the needle is getting moved

Meanwhile, Justin Keeble, Google Cloud’s Managing Director for Global Sustainability was quoted by SDXCentral as saying that even though sustainability dropped in prioritization, executives are still “interested in moving the needle, which is great. However, there are several new pressures that are making executives lose sight of ESG goals. 

“In particular and, of course, economic headwinds, but we’re also seeing challenges around measurement and skill building and some of the implementation challenges that come from having to deliver on the big, ambitious goals that organizations have set,” Keeble has said. Google has provided a detailed infographic of the survey (download here). 

Green hypocrisy and greenwashing a concern

The blog post says that corporate greenwashing and green hypocrisy remained pervasive concerns among this year’s respondents, with nearly six out of 10 executives (59%) admitting to overstating — or inaccurately representing — their sustainability activities. Many believe greenwashing is accidental and underscores the need for accurate measurement, identifying a lack of tools as one of the biggest barriers to true progress. 

Executives are eager for better systems to track their progress, with 87% of respondents looking to incorporate better measurement into their organizations to help make more accurate targets. Measurement is critical. But coupling accurate measurement tools with more ambitious targets is where we believe there is untapped opportunity, the report said. 

However, things aren’t all that bad

Nearly all companies (96%) have at least one program in place to advance their sustainability initiatives, and participation in programs remains mostly unchanged from 2022. Interest in organizational sustainability also remains strong, with 84% of respondents saying they care more about sustainability than before, says the blog post. 

Chris Talbott, who leads sustainability at Google Cloud, says because “executives don’t have the insights related to sustainability efforts at their fingertips,” they find themselves “in a precarious position with so much pressure to talk publicly about sustainability efforts.” 

Keeble said sustainability continues to be about transforming the business and  companies that are taking this agenda seriously aren’t wavering in the face of economic headwinds. They see the imperative to rotate their businesses to more sustainable models, to drive efficiency by doing more with less and building resilience in their operations, in their supply chains.