Uncertainty About Corporate Esg Spikes – Business Poll

US President Donald Trump attends nan Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit connected nan field of Carnegie Mellon University successful Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania connected July 15, 2025. Credit: Andrew Callero-Raynolds/AFP via Getty Images.

The proportionality of manufacture professionals who do not cognize if their institution has an ESG strategy has risen sharply, a caller study shows.

GlobalData’s Q2 2025 Sentiment Polls survey, carried retired crossed nan company’s web of B2B news websites, recovered that nan proportionality of respondents who did not cognize if their institution had an ESG strategy accrued to 30% from 19% successful Q1 2025.

Concurrently, nan proportionality of respondents who said that their institution had an ESG strategy fell to 39% from 46% successful Q1.

In its study accompanying nan study results, GlobalData said: “The increasing anti-ESG activity chiefly started successful nan US and has since dispersed to different parts of nan world. Anti-ESG politicians, lobby groups and different stakeholders person put unit connected companies to driblet their ESG strategies. This whitethorn create disorder among labor arsenic to whether their institution still has an ESG strategy.”

Indeed, nan anti-ESG activity whitethorn besides beryllium contributing to a alteration successful institution priorities. Of nan 5 awesome themes polled, ESG is now classed bottommost successful position of what respondents judge will astir effect their business successful nan adjacent 12 months, having fallen beneath cybersecurity. In addition, nan lowest proportionality of respondents, 7%, indicated ESG since Q4 2023, erstwhile nan figures stood astatine 4%.

The apical 3 themes respondents expect to effect their business complete nan adjacent 12 months are geopolitical conflict (40%), precocious ostentation (33%) and digitalisation (10%).

“Once again, geopolitical conflict was nan taxable pinch nan highest ranking successful position of disruptiveness,” GlobalData outlined. “The proportionality of respondents answering successful this measurement accrued from 36% successful Q1 2025 to 40% successful Q2. Geopolitical tensions person accrued steadily successful caller quarters, pinch concerns astir warfare successful nan Middle East ratcheting up successful Q2 arsenic nan US bombed atomic sites successful Iran.”

It added: “For nan 2nd consecutive quarter, precocious ostentation was conscionable disconnected nan apical spot of perceived disruptiveness. Economic concerns person been rife this quarter, particularly pinch uncertainty astir nan US government’s tariff policy. However, nan consequence of geopolitical conflict is perceived arsenic a greater short-term threat.”

GlobalData besides noted that high-profile cyberattacks connected retailers including Marks and Spencer, The Co-op and UNFI, person led to an accrued attraction connected cybersecurity.