I hate to give this guy attention, but CNN recently had a useful profile on Robby Starbuck, the social media agitator that’s pressuring companies to drop DEI, LGBTQ+ support, and climate action. Home improvement retailer Lowe’s — a Fortune 50 company with roughly $90 billion in sales — caved to Starbuck last week.  And, just […] The post Why Are Companies Caving to an Anti-ESG Social Media Bully? first appeared on Andrew Winston ..read more

[Hi to new subscribers. This blog is where I (mostly) re-post things I’ve written elsewhere — longer posts from LinkedIn or articles in magazines like HBR, MIT Sloan, or in the case of the below, Fortune. Reader discussion generally appears on LinkedIn — see extensive discussion on this article here. Thanks for joining the conversation!] […] The post The ‘Sustainability Recession’ Will End Soon—And Not By Choice first appeared on Andrew Winston ..read more

Following Tractor Supply Company’s recent retreat from sustainability to “rural values”*, agriculture equipment giant John Deere says it’s ending support for “social or cultural awareness” events.** Because we wouldn’t want to be socially or culturally connected. You know, the news in sustainability circles seems dire. So many apparent ‘pullbacks’. It’s easy to get negative. But don’t. This won’t last. There are always ups and downs. Lots more to say on this in coming days, but in short, the sustainability agenda won’t leave and it will be a priority again. The issues driving sustainabili ..read more

Tractor Supply Company, a Fortune 500 business, recently issued what may be the first anti-sustainability statement. The company is stepping away from ESG-type efforts to focus more on “rural American priorities” (Are those truly at odds with sustainability? Discuss…). It’s become fashionable to say that companies shouldn’t try to do everything, and instead focus their sustainability efforts on where they can have real impact. A worthy discussion. But is Tractor Supply’s more aggressive move away from sustainability a good idea? Here are the 5 anti-commitments and my thoughts: “Going forward w ..read more

There’s a big new survey (from Post-Ipsos) on American attitudes toward Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. It’s worth reading the full article in the Washington Post. The main takeaway: ?????? ??? ????????? ???????? ????? ??????? ?? ?? ???? ?????????. And, importantly, specific DEI programs get even higher support (framing matters!).  E.g., 69% support “programs to hire more employees from groups that are underrepresented in their workforce, such as racial and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities, to promote equity in the workplace.” We often see this polling patter ..read more

Check out this report “Commitment Issues: Markers of Real Climate Action in the Fortune Global 500” from Climate Impact Partners. It’s from 2023, but I really doubt the numbers have changed much given the general sustainability malaise right now. There’s more concern these days about whether companies are on track (hard to say, but given how much cheaper clean tech continues to be, progress will continue). Either way, it’s still very useful to get a sense of the level of commitment across the world’s largest companies. Without goals, not much would happen. Some highlights ..read more

The tech giants are really leading the pack on managing carbon emissions. They have a LOT of energy use to cover…especially as AI grows. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says AI may double data center energy demand in a couple of years (and Microsoft is addressing these concerns by setting aggressive new datacenter emissions goals). But the tech companies are by far the biggest buyers of renewables. And the leaders have been working on carbon sequestration — meaning, they’re paying a lot per ton to build the market. I’m always on the lookout for what they’re doing in this, so a recen ..read more

A quick look at some interesting data on sales of electric vehicles… First, an analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows a slowdown in pure EV (or BEV, meaning only battery) sales in the U.S. In the first quarter 2024, BEVs lost market share, dropping from 8% to 7%. It’s not full year data, and quarterly sales fluctuate, but it’s a note-worthy shift from an exponential rise over the last few years. And yet, hybrid and plug-in sales rose, party offsetting the decline in BEVs. For U.S. automakers undergoing a major technological shift and for broader decarbonization efforts ..read more

I’ve been looking back at the last IPCC assessment report from 2022 (yes, a climate nerd moment). Deniers may say the science is muddy, but the “Summary for Policymakers” is darn clear and a great reminder of where we are. Here are 10 big takeaways/reminders and a few comments on what may have changed in 2 years: ?. ??? ????????? ??? ????? ??????, “across all major sectors.” But the rate of growth was slower in the 2010s than the 2000s. So we’re losing slower. Yay? ?. ???????? ?? ?.?? ?? ???????? (they were understated). Even 2C requires “rapid acceleration of mitigation efforts.” Every year t ..read more

CNN reports that retail giant Target is “limiting the number of stores that will sell LGBTQ-themed merchandise for Pride Month in June following a boycott from right-wing activists last year that took a toll on the brand’s bottom line.” I welcome your thoughts, but I have a few questions to kick off discussion: 1. Is it really clear that last year’s sales dip was due to the right-wing boycott? Could it have been because people were turned off by how Target pulled merchandise? Or both? 2. Does the cause of the sales dip really matter? Is giving in to bigotry the right thing even if it might sav ..read more