The bad-faith anti-Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement is sweeping the nation at lightning speed. At its forefront, leading the way is the United States, driving this tidal wave. This troubling movement is the result of a potent combination of far-right political activism and radical right policymaking. Now, it’s beginning to have a profound effect across all companies—regardless of industry. With the anticipated return of Donald Trump as U.S. President, the anti-ESG movement is poised for significant growth, ultimately reshaping how corporations approach their ESG policies.
That movement began back in 2021. That’s what happened when Texas passed legislation banning financial institutions from boycotting fossil fuel companies. Since that time, anti-ESG sentiment has taken hold across the country, propelled by partisan rhetoric and a surging wave of state-level legislative efforts. According to the new GlobalData Strategic Intelligence report, there has been a noticeable increase in these actions since Trump won re-election this past November 2024.
Legislative Landscape Shifts
By 2024, the wave of enthusiasm and energy that had previously driven anti-ESG bills began to turn. This dropoff doesn’t mean the movement is fading in power. This time it was different—in 2024, lawmakers filed more of these anti-ESG bills. These bills had a 48% success rate compared to the measly 3% of those proposed in 2023. Ropes and Gray analysts predict a tidal wave of anti-ESG legislation in 2025. Right-wing lawmakers are pumping up the pressure to make this a reality.
“Since President Trump’s re-election in November 2024, the efforts of the anti-ESG movement have ratcheted up, and all companies (not just those in the financial services industry) lie within the movement’s scope,” – GlobalData Strategic Intelligence report
This means that businesses in all industries will need to operate under a more complicated regulatory landscape when it comes to their ESG efforts. We anticipate the legislative landscape to only get worse as anti-ESG actors continue to build momentum.
Corporate Response Required
As pressure mounts for compliance to bans on ESG-related disclosures and other anti-ESG measures, companies will need to re-evaluate their ESG approaches. One of the recommendations from the GlobalData report is for organizations to make sure that their surviving ESG policies are tightly integrated with their core business goals. These new goals go far beyond profit maximization and cost minimization to the introduction of sustainability and net-zero strategies.
“Having properly assessed the risk associated with either keeping or dropping ESG, companies should ensure that any ESG policies they do keep are aligned with their core business objectives,” – GlobalData Strategic Intelligence report
In this new context, organizations are under greater threat from anti-ESG actors. To successfully defend their ESG policies, they need to demonstrate a positive ROI that extends past climate mitigation and regulatory adherence.
Future Implications for Businesses
The anti-ESG movement may be a break with political traditions, but it is a tidal wave of change to the nature of corporate governance and responsibility. Right-wing lawmakers are still on the attack against ESG principles. Businesses need to be ready for this changing environment, in which they will increasingly face increased pressures to defend their efforts to practice sustainability.
“This will include goals like maximizing revenue and minimizing costs. A key part of this will be implementing sustainability and net-zero strategies with a clear return on investment beyond climate mitigation and regulatory compliance,” – GlobalData Strategic Intelligence report
The report on the anti-ESG movement combines business intelligence with editorial excellence and reaches engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. As this movement rapidly expands across the country, businesses need to stay alert and agile to avoid being caught unknowingly in the crosshairs of future anti-ESG laws.