ESG Mindset at One: Still Standing

As the acronym shifts, the mindset steps forward

Apr 29, 2025

Well, here we are. It is the first anniversary of ESG Mindset!
👏👏👏

And what a year it has been!

One of the book’s central themes is ‘driving progress and creating impact as only you can.’ As a recovering English graduate who loves to write, the book was my way of contributing to the global narrative (fourth-wall breakthrough!).

When I released the book, I had visions of Johnny Appleseed as the book spread across the corporate world and grew saplings of ESG knowledge. I heard management teams collectively gasping, “Oh, this is what we should focus on.”

Of course, that didn’t happen, but I have heard from many people with kind words how the book helped shift their mindset on the topic in their business, and I’ve spoken with many looking to break into the space.

I did have some worries as it came closer to publishing time at the unique moment that was the early 2020s, because ESG was still finding its way, but I’m convinced more than ever that I wrote something lasting, and that companies are coming around.

But wow, just one year after its release, I’ve heard “tough time to have a book out there on ESG” more than once.

Past ESG pushback

I wrote ESG Mindset because in every conversation, podcast, or interview, people conflated sustainability and values-based efforts with ESG. In doing so, I leaned heavily into the original intention of ESG, with the book centered on the ideas of materiality, stakeholders, and long-term business value.

Over the past year, I’ve realized that the mindset ESG instills is more resilient than the acronym, although I still really like the definition I used.

The material Environmental, Social, and Governance risks that affect a company and opportunities that drive toward long-term value and sustainable growth.

This definition is stubbornly apolitical, yet the term has been incorrectly politicized through US state-level legislation against it, conservative think tanks, and wannabe social media celebrities. However, we’re well past the pushback. Few understand the political see-saw in the US, and fewer can predict what will happen daily, making an ESG mindset more critical than ever.

Look, ESG as a concept has been bastardized by those seeking opportunities and has become a catch-all for values-driven efforts. Opposing conservative forces have leaned so heavily into this meaning that they’ve pushed it over and capitalized on this misalignment to push their agenda and garner more votes. Investors have used it as a catch-all for anything falling into that bucket, confusing boards and management teams to make the acronym meaningless.

Beyond these opportunistic misinterpretations, though, I’ve heard more than once over the past few months (in fact, last week), “I never got it anyway.” I termed these people “The academic or business consultant who found ESG last week” in The Five People You Meet in ESG. Those people need to read the core chapters on E, S, and G, and chapter 10 on the interconnected nature of the term.

Despite my best efforts, ESG has been pulled and stretched to its limits, yet in the opportunism, the indifference, and the overly politicized environment we now find ourselves in, what you need to know is this:

KEY TAKEAWAY: An ESG mindset provides clarity amid complexity, and the storms are only growing.

The work matters more now than it did a year ago

The nature of business has changed, and the pace of change in our modern world is unlike anything companies have had to deal with, universally affecting all businesses differently. Each company has environmental, stakeholder, and now governance concerns impacting everyone, everywhere, all at once, and in different ways.

Here’s a simple example. When I was writing ESG Mindset, I used Bing Image Creator to mock up some imagery to guide Kogan Page on what I envisioned for the cover. These images were based on an early Dall-E model and were not bad, but fairly rudimentary. Just 18 months later, image generation technology has grown exponentially, and we now have realistic video generation! The externalities for creators and litigation risks for AI companies are growing as fast as the technology.

Early Bing Image Creator of the cover, probably the closest to the final

AI is just one example of a technology, which has an entire chapter in the book, that illustrates the rapid pace of change, but it certainly isn’t the only one. Just as AI accelerated faster than anyone imagined, climate disruptions are accelerating with little warning outside of their volume. We recently saw this with the devastating LA wildfires, and it isn’t limited to one crisis. Flash flooding followed the wildfires, creating even more havoc in the area by spreading the manufactured debris that had burned all over.

Of course, manufactured political machinations and whipsaw policy changes can compound these issues (there’s that interconnected risk creeping up again). For example, following a climate risk event, federal resources may no longer be available to help stakeholders.

Companies need to consider all of these interconnected risks and step up.

ESG isn’t about disclosures, labels, or a glossy CSR report that makes a stakeholder go ‘wow’ in the moment. It’s about staring the world in the face from your office and yelling, “Bring it on, we’re ready!”

After all, the 21st century is proving wildly complex.

As a result, I’ve observed something new. An ESG mindset is organically growing across boards, management teams, and employees, rather than spreading across the countryside like so many apple seeds through my pontifications. People are examining and solving these issues, not some ethereal corporate culture, and people are beginning to wonder how to get better at planning proactively.

…and it’s coming out of a need for defense (you know what I mean).

Still, no one is defiant to the world’s crises yet, but some are more thoughtful than others, and these understand the nature of resilience and are coming back to the ESG definition above.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING: It is exactly the right time to have a book about ESG.

What we’ve all learned over the past year

I finished ESG Mindset’s first draft in September 2023, and what I wrote then was very close to the final release. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that Trump would be the Republican Presidential nominee at the time.

Although, as the publication date got closer, I did consider trying to print other words on stickers that could be slapped on the cover because I was worried people wouldn’t buy a book with “ESG” on the cover. These stickers would’ve included terms like: Business, Systemic, Operating, Stakeholder, and more.

This is totally true by the way.

Yet, despite this, I wrote about the risks of backing away from ESG as a term too early and losing the interconnected perspective on issues, especially as companies use siloed disclosures poorly. Indifference be damned! Still, I hadn’t considered just how crazy things would get until November 2024, right after the US election.

But this is when I realized we were at a global governance tipping point with a second Trump term. This would have changed the direction of the chapters on governance, interconnected ESG risks and issues, and controversy.

Still, I stand by what I wrote, but I would’ve changed one thing in hindsight. Until the governance tipping point arrived, I didn’t realize how vital the mindset is. The most resilient companies have leaders and employees who embrace the uncertainty, unpack it, and plan around it as best as possible. This takes an active role that sometimes uses a tried and true playbook and other times must forge new paths.

The mindset is the movement

Over the past few months, the rebranding and reframing of ESG has been well underway. Some companies and consortia are backing away from the term. War rooms have been set up, and ongoing reviews of the latest Executive Orders have kept corporate lawyers busy. I’ve heard that teams that have only focused on disclosures are getting trimmed in the wake of the EU’s Omnibus.

From a career perspective, I’ve heard advice to back away from it entirely and reevaluate in a few years. Others believe now is the right time to put your head down and go deep on that one issue that needs serious thinking. Still others raise their hands at conferences and look to hide in the language, asking, “What term is next?” hoping to find their next title in the madness.

But here’s the thing: no matter what terms you use or what you call it, traditional business models are rapidly changing, and issues are building, whether it is the environment, social, or governance. When crises hit, having the right mindset matters.

Part of this mindset is recognizing that the nature of business has changed and understanding that you don’t have all the answers.

One year on, it isn’t time to back away from ESG, but it is time to use it as intended, not as a catch-all for everything, but as a lens through which to see interconnected risks and opportunities in your business. It’s also the time for something new, including new management styles, relationships, and domain expertise.

In 2025, ESG Mindset is still valid and standing up well. I’m ready to watch it grow as people shift their mindset to the original intention, albeit not how I thought they’d get there.

Are you ready to ride the next wave?