In May, 100 days into the second Trump administration, the mood among sustainability professionals was defined by shock, whiplash and acute anxiety. One described feeling helpless in the face of chaos, recalling being an 11-year-old watching their parents fight.

The shock has worn off, replaced by something harder and more grinding: fatigue, pragmatism, and a defiant resolve, according to responses to the latest Trellis sentiment survey, in November.

“It feels like we are in a sustainability recession,” one said. “But I am sure we will eventually come out stronger.”

The sliver of Trellis readers who said they had positive feelings about working in sustainability doubled to 20 percent in the recent survey. Two-thirds of the 167 professionals who responded remain negative about the profession, down from three-quarters in May.

A year after Donald Trump was elected, it’s become distressingly clear that U.S. policy has shifted decisively from encouraging decarbonization to promoting fossil fuels. 

“I’ve seen cycles before,” one professional said. “This year the dips are lower, and it’s difficult to bear witness as good policies and incentives are being thwarted.”

When leaders step ‘off the gas’

Most galling to many was seeing how “corporate leaders have caved” to the new administration by “taking their foot off the gas” or even “fleeing their responsibility.”

“My company is paying to attend banquets to fund Trump’s ballroom, while laying off 30 percent of the sustainability team and rolling back our commitments,” vented one respondent. 

Another described the disturbing “realization that corporate sustainability too often has been an optics play to paper over business as usual.” 

Others saw signs of hope, seeing that at least some “companies with integrity have continued their sustainability journeys.”

Bigger challenges; few resources

“Despite the federal pullback and skepticism around climate, the outlook within our organization and among our partners remains highly positive, ambitious and innovative,” one professional said.

In many companies, sustainability departments, which have always been lean, are being cut back. 

“The challenges are bigger, but the funds are smaller,” one said.

Many now report “constant pressure from the C-suite to prove why my work in sustainability matters.” Some, at least, say they are rising to the challenge: “It’s pushed me to sharpen my focus and make the case for impact every day.” 

Professionals also lamented that their work itself has become more bureaucratic. “I used to be full of hope that I could make a positive impact,” one said. “But the job has been reduced to measurement, tracking and reporting.”

Stay the course

The political minefields and indignities of sustainability work have led some to question the entire profession. 

“I’m discouraged that this is not a viable career field given corporate America’s allegiance to the politics of the moment rather than the future of our society,” one said. 

Indeed, the opportunities to continue working on business climate issues may be diminishing.

“My sustainability position in renewable energy was just eliminated,” one reader said. “The job market seems very, very tough right now.”

Yet more common, even among the most discouraged professionals, was the urge to “stay the course” because “sustainability isn’t a job; it’s a passion.”

“I was extremely upset and fearful about the prospects of the Trump administration reversing environmental regulations,” one said. “Now I see how sustainability professionals are vital to continuing the quest forward.”

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The opinions expressed here by Trellis expert contributors are their own, not those of Trellis.​

Many companies have transformed sustainability reporting into a “portfolio” of disclosures, publishing multiple reports aimed at different audiences. These cover topics such as climate initiatives, sustainability, labor practices and human rights. While such reports provide extensive information, they often fail to present a coherent strategy that addresses stakeholder needs. Producing this library of highly-specialized reports also demands significant effort and expense, at a time when shifting stakeholder expectations, evolving regulations and rapid advances in AI are happening.

An inflection point for reporting

To maximize the value of the resources invested in sustainability reporting, organizations must first ask, “Who reads them?” and adopt disclosure strategies that deliver meaningful impact. By staying ahead of regulatory change and harnessing AI for efficient, data-driven insights, the sector can redefine how sustainability information is collected, developed and shared.

Some companies are already excelling at combining clear, actionable data with engaging narratives that provide meaningful context for the reader. For example, Logitech’s report connects the dots between the data they provide and the actions, strategies and aspirations that reduce their impact on the world. The company uses a sophisticated approach to calculating the carbon footprint of many of their products and quantitative data that shows how their products are affected by this approach, like a 37 percent reduction in the carbon footprint of one of their wireless keyboards.

Companies can learn to produce effective ESG reports by experimenting with these four drivers.

Produce dynamic, targeted content

We live in a world of dynamic digital content and companies need to find ways to do this with sustainability reports. Instead of producing multiple reports that lack a cohesive story, imagine being able to direct and customize content to specific subgroups by using AI-powered tools to help you determine which datasets are most appropriate for different types of readers. 

For example, an investor may be more interested in the financial risks or opportunities, while a NGO representative may want to see content related to a company’s human rights impact data. Some companies also use tools such as ones from EcoActive and Key ESG to customize what disclosures are included for sustainability reporting.

Provide continuous access to quality storytelling 

By using AI, companies can now provide near real-time data back to consumers instead of using time-consuming manual processes by using systems that compile energy and greenhouse gas data from across an organization via direct data feeds, enabling companies to measure and share data almost instantaneously. 

One example of this real-time visibility into sustainability data is from Midcontinent Independent System Operator, an electric grid operator for the central U.S. Through the company’s online portal, viewers can see how much energy they’re generating and the real-time emissions resulting from that energy production. 

That said, companies still need to balance this continuous access to data with thought and care. The reality is that data is meaningless if it doesn’t communicate a key message or theme. Without context, audiences have free rein over interpretation, which is a risk when it comes to maintaining a brand’s messaging. 

Use automated compliance checkers

AI-enabled systems can quickly scan documents and outputs for compliance with applicable laws, flag deficiencies and suggest remedies. As more regulations come into play, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), there will inevitably be more reporting frameworks companies have to comply with. The use of AI tools can play a significant role in ensuring the correct data is being collected and reported at a much faster pace. 

With regulatory and reporting framework compliance more important, data platforms such as Palau, Manifest Climate or Unravel Carbon offer AI-powered solutions where companies can analyze their disclosures and give quick feedback on how well they’re aligning their disclosures with regulations or reporting frameworks. 

For example, our team recently worked with a German manufacturer of HVAC equipment in their sustainability reporting process where we used the Palau platform to assess how well prior disclosures aligned with the current European standards, giving them the opportunity to collect and refine that content prior to CSRD regulations coming into force. 

Connect the dots

AI-driven, real-time data and modeling capabilities also allow companies to connect the dots between strategic decisions and their sustainability performance. By integrating AI into “digital twins” (digital models of processes and the quantitative interdependencies of those processes), companies can project how changes to operations, costs and regulations may affect their business and stakeholders. 

For instance, a company could model the impact of a 10 percent tariff on imported steel and evaluate the resulting financial cost, the change in sourcing options and the effect on its overall greenhouse gas emissions. This information has the potential to transform strategic decision-making as it relates to sustainability performance. It can also help companies explain why certain decisions are made and impacts that are observed. 

By embracing AI, companies can achieve one overarching goal: using data to tell effective stories through impactful ESG reports that support long-term business strategies. 

The post 4 ways to use AI to build stronger ESG reports appeared first on Trellis.

The opinions expressed here by Trellis expert contributors are their own, not those of Trellis.​

At the beginning of November, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) opened our second public consultation for the revision of our Corporate Net-Zero Standard. Designed as roadmap for businesses to navigate a carbon-constrained future, the updated draft proposes a range of new, innovative mechanisms that will not only unlock decarbonization potential across a range of businesses already engaged with the SBTi, but will also make corporate climate action more accessible and actionable to those that are just getting started.

3 overarching themes

The standard puts renewed emphasis on the next five years as a pivotal period to accelerate decarbonization and enable a global net-zero transition by 2050. Creating a standard that stands at the intersection of scientific rigor and actionability is no small feat, but with our expert technical department and perspective from hundreds of businesses and experts, we decided to focus our work around three overarching themes: 

• Reinforcing ambition through accountability, transparency and planning requirements
• Enhancing clarity on purpose and scope to align with the latest science, best practice and frameworks
• Strengthening the validation system

So we created specific technical updates in five key areas to support those themes:

• An end-to-end cycle that incentivizes ambition and recognizes progress achieved at the end of the target cycle as well as optional spot checks.
• Diversified Scope 1 target-setting methods, offering more granular pathways, to enable companies to use a more precise range of metrics and benchmarks. 
• Tightened the integrity for low-carbon electricity purchasing.
• A focused and flexible approach to value chain emissions that introduces three options for setting targets — emissions intensity, activity alignment and counterparty alignment.
• Progressive responsibility, starting with a first phase of voluntary recognition until  2035, with a pragmatic approach to the types of credits subject to these having high integrity.

Developing these mechanisms drew on a huge amount of input and assessment of the sustainability ecosystem. We recognized the work of existing disclosure platforms and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and analyzed, acknowledged and responded to the more than 850 business submissions to our first public consultation. We factored in the latest climate science through extensive research and listened to the perspectives of a diverse range of experts that contribute to our expert working groups.

Next steps for businesses

Already our science-based targets are proving to be a boon for companies. Nine in 10 companies surveyed said science-based targets deliver positive business impact and had positively impacted their climate ambition. Nearly all (95 percent) companies reported enhanced reputation with stakeholders, while 80 percent of businesses reported strengthened investor relations and greater strategic cohesion. Ninety-two percent reported neutral or positive impacts on long-term financial performance.

In addition to these reports, our own engagement with companies has found that businesses with target experience boost performance across four key measures of competitive advantage: strategic cohesion, stakeholder confidence, financial performance and climate impact.

So what can you do now? We’re now half way through our consultation period, but it’s still open until December 12, 2025. Feedback from these processes will help ensure the final standard is practical, credible and robust, helping businesses worldwide accelerate the net-zero transition.

While reaching net-zero was never going to be straightforward, with this updated draft, we’ve recognized the guidance to get businesses there should be. By contributing to our public consultation, you’ll be leading your field by helping turn ambition into action and action into impact for companies all over the world.

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The Loop reusable packaging initiative, launched in 2019 as an e-commerce pilot by waste management company TerraCycle and two dozen high-profile brands including Procter & Gamble and Unilever, was a high-profile bet on the idea that people would buy detergents, ice cream, cereals and other products in refillable containers.

Almost seven years later, the only major market where the Loop model has scaled commercially is France, where grocer Carrefour stocks products with reusable containers from companies including CocaCola in more than 300 stores alongside products offered in disposable packaging. 

Consumers pay a deposit as part of the price for goods in reusable bottles or containers, which is returned to them digitally or via cash when they bring the container back. The overall price of the products, however, is less than the alternative offered in disposable packaging — including the deposit. That’s important to encourage participation, according to executives for Loop and Carrefour. 

“This is a point of differentiation,” said Bertrand Swiderski, chief sustainability officer for Carrefour. “You have a consumer that has to come back into your store. This is a value — it creates loyalty. We believe in the future it will be a competitive advantage.” 

Carrefour offers roughly 40 returnable products through Loop, focused primarily on beverages from companies such as Suntory, which sells brands like Orangina and Schweppes in returnable glass bottles. (Suntory’s products are available in about 100 Carrefour stories.)

“We believe that the power and awareness of our brands could be an effective lever for the reuse transition,” said Joshua Galant, sustainable packaging senior brand manager for Suntory Beverage & Food France. 

That said, Galant anticipates “it will take a long time to change purchasing and consumption habits.”

Pivot to retail

At the peak of its experimentation phase, the Loop service was available through limited pilots in the U.S., U.K., Canada, France and Japan. Those countries were picked, in part, because they’re where TerraCycle had on-the-ground resources. 

Loop ran as an online-only service for close to two years, with TerraCycle handling the logistics of collecting empty containers for refill, before including retailers such as Kroger and Carrefour and fast-food chains including McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s in the merchandising and physical collection process.   

For the initial phase of Loop, TerraCycle put $10 million of its own money into the project; now it’s running at a modest profit, said TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky, who has been personally involved since the launch.  

Getting retailers involved represented a critical turning point for scaling the Loop program, which now includes more than 200 companies and 370 products through an alliance managed by the World Economic Forum, he said.

One challenge with shifting to a reuse model is that it’s more complex for consumer packaged goods companies to handle on their own. “It’s not something, per se, that companies want to implement because it’s not incremental,” Szaky acknowledged.

Some retail participants, including Carrefour, were involved in the e-commerce phase, but enabling consumers to drop off empty containers during shopping trips made a big difference for adoption with both brands and consumers, he said. 

“What made France really work was a courageous and commercially focused retailer who took the reins and really pushed it, and used all their tools,” Szaky said. “You need one retailer who makes it a priority, and not a brand. It’s a retailer because they have to pull all the brands together and convince them to play ball.”  

France: Carrot and stick market

Carrefour’s deep involvement convinced other retailers, including Monoprix and Coopérative U, to get involved, according to Szaky. That was important for building the number of collection locations available for returns. “It also creates the competitive motivation for everyone else to join in,” he said. 

There’s another reason these French retailers are stepping up: France’s Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law mandates a 20 percent reduction in single-use packaging by the end of 2025 and requires that supermarkets dedicate a certain amount of their shelf space to products with reusable packaging by 2027, especially for food. Businesses pay a fee related to disposable packaging. 

That law is a key reason that reuse is scaling in France, where it has failed to find commercial relevance in places such as the U.S. and other Western European countries, according to the participants.

As new regulations emerge, that’s where Loop will focus on potential expansion. Among the regions where that’s most possible: the U.K., Iberia and Benelux. “You need the carrot and stick approach,” Szaky said.

Best practices emerge

Consumer products companies and retailers considering a shift to reusable packaging can take a cue from what Loop, Carrefour and Suntory have learned. 

The price tag matters. When Loop launched, the idea was that consumers would pay a premium on unique packaging. But to encourage wider adoption, there needs to be an incentive for a consumer to choose the reusable version of a product. “The price must be lower, that is key,” said Swiderski.

Items should be placed with their category rather than in a standalone section. Sales are higher when products in reusable containers are placed on the shelf next to similar options; return rates also tend to be higher, Szaky said. 

Employee training is required. For Suntory, that means a different approach to in-store merchandising, to help potential customers understand the value proposition when it comes to costs and reduction of plastic waste. It’s also an initiative that’s still evolving, which means change management skills are helpful. For Carrefour, the biggest changes were back-of-house, where employees needed to learn how to prepare returns for collection.

Beverages or quickly consumed products do best. Carrefour has found the most success with beer, soda and water, which have a relatively short shelf life. Traction was lower for items such as shampoo or perfume. Szaky figures reusable containers are only appropriate for approximately one-third of all consumer products.

Consumers want options for deposit returns. Reverse vending machines are used in some larger stores. But in small convenience stores, where customers can hand containers directly to a store employee, many prefer their deposit back in cash.

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As COP30 enters its final days in Brazil — the first COP in the Amazon region and marking the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement — the world’s attention is on climate action. But public priorities extend beyond climate alone. Trellis data partner GlobeScan’s latest research reveals that climate change, war/conflict and extreme poverty dominate global concerns, ranking highest in both perceived seriousness and importance to address.

War and conflict tops the list for seriousness (68 percent), while climate change and extreme poverty are tied for first place in importance (41 percent). These crises are deeply interconnected; climate change drives resource scarcity and displacement, hitting the poorest the hardest and fueling instability. Poverty and inequality create conditions for conflict, while war undermines efforts to build climate resilience and economic security.

Other issues, such as corruption, water pollution and hunger also rank high on perceived seriousness but fall behind on importance compared to the top three. This underscores the unique urgency of climate, poverty and conflict as a combined global challenge.

What this means

As COP30 concludes, expectations for bold climate commitments are high, but progress may be constrained by competing priorities and geopolitical tensions. These interconnected crises make negotiations harder, as countries balance climate ambition with urgent social and security concerns. Public opinion signals that ambition cannot be siloed. Integrated strategies that address climate, poverty and conflict together will be critical to achieving global aspirations moving forward.

Based on a survey of more than 31,000 people in more than 30 countries conducted July-August 2025.

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