Sustainability (ESG) has been front and centre of business discussions when the intended beneficiaries of commerce changed from shareholders to stakeholders.
Then, hardly noticed at first, things moved on. Companies rowed back on their commitments. Net-zero targets were postponed. ESG no longer got top billing in annual reports. It was even derided by some as ‘woke capitalism’.
The new thing is corporate patriotism. [See Footnote]. It is still mainly in the USA but many European firms are affected. The pull comes from creating jobs and paying taxes at home; the push, from global insecurity and avoidance of trade embargoes on unfriendly countries.
When ESG is mentioned now, it is often only to support new patriotic anthems: foreigners pollute; they abuse human rights; they steal IP; they are untrustworthy; and on and on.
How should supply chains, marketing, operations and the rest respond?
Should they pivot in a U-turn?
Can their already long list of trading criteria be further lengthened?
Footnote: Article in this week’s edition of The Economist (August 17th 2024), ‘Patriotism is replacing purpose in American business’.