Pressure from the U.S. federal government to stop diversity and climate efforts has led many U.S. companies to shift attention from their sustainability and equity programs. Many of those that are open about such efforts are using ROI to justify their efforts. But emphasizing ROI reinforces a false story that sustainability work creates a drag on earnings and ignores the broader, stronger case for continuing to support diversity and climate programs. It's no secret that it's been a rough year for corporate sustainability. Just a few years ago, large companies were eager to publicize bold goals around their climate change and equity efforts. Today, most U.S. companies are keeping their heads down and avoiding drawing attention to those topics. While I believe that most companies are still doing the work (to varying degrees), a chill in the space is palpable. The reasons for the sustainability malaise are clear: aggressive social media campaigns against so-called woke companies, and...
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