As we gear up for the 2025 Transparency Awards – coming up in just over a month – we weren’t surprised to see in this report from “The Conference Board” that in the first half of 2025, just 432 Russell 3000 companies published a voluntary sustainability report, versus 831 over the same period in 2024—a 52% drop. We’ve been slugging these reports and sometimes companies are releasing their sustainability reports later than in prior years. But some indeed are dropping them altogether. It will be interesting to see how many companies will have released sustainability reports before we select the “ESG/Sustainability” report winners.
Why the decline? The return of the Trump administration has triggered intense political scrutiny and legal pressure on ESG and DEI initiatives. Companies are rethinking sustainability messaging that could become politically contentious. Federal policymakers, not just activists, are now seen as the primary source of backlash.
But in many cases, it is a case of strategic recalibration, not abandonment. Some companies are delaying annual reports, waiting for more clarity around mandatory rules like the SEC’s climate disclosure proposal and California’s SB 253/SB 261 climate laws. Some companies are refocusing on business integration, emphasizing ROI, risk mitigation, and long‑term value over standout “ESG” report branding. And as I’ve blogged before, there is also a terminology shift. “ESG” Is out; “sustainability” or “impact” is in.
