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Conference Board ESG Report: Focus Shifts to Value Creation, Materiality

A survey of 125 corporate sustainability, environmental, social and governance executives at leading companies reaffirms the Enterprise Engagement Alliance’s original focus on value creation rather than virtue-signaling.

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This Conference Board members-only report, Sustainability Under Scrutiny: Corporate ESG in an Uncertain Policy Environment, suggests that leading companies are moving ahead with environmental, social, and governance but without the fanfare.
 
In a short video, Andrew Jones, Principal Researcher, Governance, and Sustainability at the Conference Board, New York, and author of the report, says “The corporate sustainability landscape has evolved significantly in 2025, shaped by ongoing shifts in US federal climate and energy policy, regulatory divergence across jurisdictions, and increasing public and political scrutiny. This report examines how companies are navigating, adapting, and recalibrating their sustainability strategies and initiatives for a new era—drawing on a survey of 125 corporate sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) executives at leading US and multinational companies.”
 
He highlights three major trends: “One: companies are expanding legal oversight of ESG to manage litigation, compliance, and reputational risks in a time of heightened attention and backlash. Two: they are focused on demonstrating the return on investment to boards and C-suite leaders who increasingly expect sustainability Investments to show clear business value, and clear outcomes like risk reduction, efficiency, innovation, and reputation. Three: they want a tighter framing of the subject. Many firms are refining their messaging, staying away from politicized language and focusing on material business relevant issues.”

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Enterprise Engagement Alliance Services
 
Celebrating our 15^th year, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance helps organizations enhance performance through:
 
1. Information and marketing opportunities on stakeholder management and total rewards:

• ESM Weekly on stakeholder management since 2009. Click here to subscribe; click here for media kit.
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