Sustainability is dead – true or false?

True or false?

1. “ESG” and “sustainability” are synonymous.
2. Sustainability starts and ends with cutting carbon emissions.
3. Sustainable business practices can be profitable.
4. To be profitable, the extra cost of a sustainable product must be passed on to the consumer.
5. With climate targets being dropped and ESG funds losing assets, corporate sustainability is a thing of the past.

Answers

1. False. ESG is a framework for investors to assess “outside-in” risks. It asks: What environmental, social, or governance issues could impact our financial performance? As such, it’s critical but narrow in focus. Sustainability, by contrast, is “inside-out” value creation. It asks: Where do we leave our biggest mark on people and the planet? How can we turn that into long-term value? It’s broader, opportunity-driven, and anchored in strategy, innovation, and purpose. It’s not about avoiding risk – it’s about creating value.

2. False. Cutting carbon is critical for all businesses, but real sustainability demands a wider lens: planetary health, social equity, and strategy-level commitment.

3. True. In fact, truly sustainable business practice is profitable by definition. But, because returns from renewables, circularity, and regenerative agriculture typically accrue over three to 10 years, they tend not to show up in a 90-day results culture; hence, such future value is discounted – until it’s too late.

4. False. This is one of the most enduring myths around “green products.” In most cases, however, sustainability isn’t the problem. Green products that underperform or overcharge consumers won’t succeed. They are often more expensive to produce, but that does not mean businesses can pass all the extra cost onto the consumer. Instead, a simple shift from a relative to a fixed-margin pricing system, as shown in this Kearney article, can help solve the issue.

5. False. Yes, climate targets are being dropped, ESG funds are losing assets, and AI is stealing all the headlines as sustainability faces a combination of backlash, burnout, and boredom. But change is rarely linear. We’re actually hitting multiple S-curves of rapid progress right now: renewables are cheaper than fossil fuels, EVs have gone from niche to mainstream in Europe and China, and heat pumps, alternative proteins, regenerative agriculture, and circular business models are scaling fast and starting to revolutionize how we produce and consume – from repair and reuse to product-as-a-service.