A Net Zero sum game: Why sustainability thought leadership still adds up

Here at Luther we’ve been analysing the media coverage of thought leadership on sustainability issues each quarter for over three years. In the past 12 months, political change in the US has served to create a backlash against the sustainability agenda. We’ve seen this mimicked in other jurisdictions, too. The effect on the volume of thought leadership on sustainability is that it’s shrunk significantly – by nearly a fifth year-on-year – with environmental topics being hit hardest.

It’s easy to feel downcast; that arguably, at the time we need insight the most, the world is retreating. However, there are real positives to be drawn from this trend.

The Financial Times recently wrote on asset management’s ‘green shake out’: US asset managers’ green retreat creates opening for European rivals. The article highlights that a number of US asset managers have rolled back their support for resolutions on responsible investment. This is mostly in response to legal challenges, and pressure from US state officials, who have started to withdraw funds from managers they consider to be aligned with ESG at the expense of financial performance.

However, the asset owners themselves (pension funds and so on) – both in Europe and in some US states – still want high levels of ESG adherence. As a result, they are shifting their assets from US asset management firms to European counterparts sticking to their sustainability stances.

The analysis suggests that, in what is essentially a zero-sum game, European asset managers are not only picking up these sustainable investment mandates from their US counterparts but that the money being withdrawn from US managers eclipses the money that US state authorities are threatening to pull.

The asset managers that are staying the course on sustainability, and demonstrating their conviction, are now fewer in number and are attracting more money.

Here’s the parallel with thought leadership on sustainability issues. Like asset management there looks to be a shake out. In the battle to gain attention, fewer thought leaders will attract more of it. Those thought leaders with high conviction, that remain focused on delivering insights on sustainability issues, will reap the rewards.

There are other advantages too. As organisations drop away from developing thought leadership on sustainability, there will be more opportunity to spot white space – the holy grail whereby organisations find a topic that’s unfarmed and own it for themselves. Now could be a real opportunity to double down on thought leadership efforts.

Luther’s most recent insights paper on sustainability thought leadership can be downloaded here ESG-Report-Q1-2025-Turning-a-corner-2.pdf. In the meantime, email thoughtleadership@luther.co.uk if, as an organisation, you’re grappling with where the recent shocks to the sustainability agenda leave your thought leadership programmes.