Executive Orders & DEI: January's Top Sustainability Stories
21 January 2025
As promised, US President Donald Trump used day one of his presidency to issue a flurry of executive orders.
Executive orders carry the weight of law, but can be overturned by subsequent presidents or the courts.
They included declaring a national emergency at the southern border, “preventing government censorship”, pardoning 1,600 people involved in the march on the Capitol in 2021 and declaring that the US will only recognise two sexes, male and female.
Many business leaders went on the record to welcome the new President.
Andrew Flanagan, CEO RWE Clean Energy, said: “Today marks the beginning of a new term for President Trump. We at RWE Clean Energy look forward to working with the new administration to shape a great future for our country.
“As America looks to the future under a new administration, the need to power our nation with reliable, homegrown energy has never been greater. Our company stands ready to help deploy energy generation across the country to meet our nation’s growing energy demand.”
Some of the most controversial executive orders related to climate.
7 January 2025
Costco has reaffirmed its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, pushing back against numerous calls from conservative activists to curtail these policies.
The move comes as a growing number of corporations are scaling back their DEI efforts amidst political and public pressure.
Costco's decision centers on its belief that DEI plays a critical role in its shopping experience and its broader sustainability goals, particularly in workforce diversity and supply chain equity.
The retailer's board of directors unanimously urged shareholders to reject a proposal brought by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a conservative think tank.
The proposal demanded a financial risk analysis of Costco's DEI initiatives, alleging these could lead to “illegal discrimination” against employees who are white, Asian, male or straight.
In a statement to shareholders, Costco refuted the accusations, asserting that its policies are not only legal but essential to its long-term success.
20 January 2025
A group of 11 major global organisations including DP World, Ferrero, L'Occitane, Mars, Nestlé, Primark, Signify and Unilever has written to the European Commission urging it not to weaken existing sustainability reporting standards through its upcoming omnibus package.
These eight companies, alongside NEI Investments, the Ethical Trading Initiative and the Global Network Initiative, have expressed concerns about potential changes to established frameworks that could create uncertainty in corporate sustainability reporting.
The European Commission plans to publish its omnibus package on 26 February 2025, introducing measures to streamline reporting requirements across multiple EU sustainability laws.
While aimed at reducing administrative burdens and encouraging economic growth, the initiative has sparked debate about its potential impact on key regulations including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
6 January 2025
The Net Zero Banking Alliance was founded to unite banks in aligning their lending, investment and capital markets activities with net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Made up of some of the largest banks from around the world, the UN-convened group is designed to promote sustainable investing and prioritisation of net zero goals.
The last few weeks, however, have seen a mass exodus of the largest American banks in the group.
CitiGroup, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley have all left the NZBA, leaving JP Morgan Chase as the only large American bank in the group.
EDIT: 8 Janary 2025 - JP Morgan Chase has now exited the NZBA.
While none of the organisations have cited specific reasons for leaving NZBA, they are all leaving between Donald Trump’s election and inauguration. The incoming US President is publicly in favour of oil and gas investment, and has referred to climate change as a “hoax”, which is raising concerns for how the US will impact global sustainability going forward.
17 January 2025
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), one of the world's foremost frameworks for corporate decarbonisation, removed more than 200 companies from its list of net zero commitments in 2024.
The decision, announced as part of the final report for the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign, spoke to the challenges faced by corporations in meeting stringent climate action requirements set out by international governing bodies, as well as self-imposed interim emissions targets.
Amongst the delisted companies in question are major players such as Microsoft , Unilever , Procter & Gamble and Walmart , many of which were prominent supporters of climate initiatives.
The SBTi's decision deals reputational blows to each of these companies, tarnishing the sustainability of their brands, though the SBTi has kept the door open for them to resubmit through the initiative in the future.
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Andrew Flanagan
CEO, RWE Clean Energy
