In this wide-ranging and timely episode of Sustainability Wired, host Lorenzo Sáa is joined by Ioannis Ioannou, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. The pair reflect on what the ESG backlash of 2025 has revealed, and what it means for investors, companies, and policymakers heading into 2026.

Drawing on nearly two decades of academic research at the intersection of sustainability, corporate strategy, and financial markets, Ioannis offers a clear-eyed assessment of where sustainable investing has fallen short, where it has matured, and how it must now evolve. From green washing and fragmented regulation to regionalisation, data quality, and the limits of ESG ratings, this conversation goes beyond surface-level narratives to explore sustainability as a political economy and systems challenge.

Together, Lorenzo and Ioannis unpack why backlash was inevitable, how it exposed genuine commitment (and lack thereof), and why the next phase of sustainable investing will be defined by resilience, governance, and long-term system change rather than short-term compliance.

Key topics include:

• ✅ 2025 as the year of “peak ESG backlash”, and what we learned from it
• ✅ Why sustainability progress is non-linear and politically contested
• ✅ Green hushing vs. credible communication: why silence is not the answer
• ✅ Regionalisation and policy fragmentation in global decarbonisation
• ✅ How investors can identify real commitment beyond ESG scores
• ✅ The evolving role, and limits, of ESG data and ratings
• ✅ Why adaptation, nature, and social issues must rise alongside climate
• ✅ Coalitions, alliances, and the future of collective action
• ✅ “Trap competencies”: undervalued skills and capabilities for a sustainable economy
• ✅ AI and technology through a sustainability governance lens
• ✅ The skills sustainability professionals will need in 2026 and beyond

Whether you’re an investor navigating regulatory uncertainty, a sustainability leader facing internal scepticism, or a policymaker grappling with coordination challenges, this episode offers thoughtful guidance on how to move forward with clarity and conviction.

🎧 Listen now for a grounded, research-led perspective on what sustainable investing needs next.

Key Moments:

• 0:00 - Introduction & Guest Background
• 7:01 - 2025: The Year of Peak Backlash
• 15:26 - System-Level Investing & Regional Fragmentation
• 24:39 - Looking Ahead: 2026 Predictions
• 28:11 - Net Zero Coalitions & Alliances
• 33:07 - Sustainability Careers & Trapped Competencies
• 40:00 - Message to Investors & AI Governance
• 46:00 - Quick Fire Questions & Closing

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