The ESG backlash is real, but it is often misunderstood. In this episode of The Responsible Edge, Charlie Martin speaks with Jonathan Hall, Managing Partner of Kantar’s Sustainable Transformation Practice, about what is actually happening inside businesses as sustainability becomes politically charged.

Hall explains why some companies are retreating, why most are staying the course quietly, and why ESG language itself has become a liability. Drawing on global client work and academic insight, he argues that sustainability has not disappeared. It has matured.

The conversation covers:

- Why ESG confidence has faded

- Which companies are stepping back and why

- How sustainability language is changing

- The role of proximity and lived experience in behaviour change

- What leadership looks like in a period of backlash

“We’re constantly having to make the argument,” Hall says. Yet he believes this moment may force a more serious, more disciplined approach to sustainability inside business.

Listen for a calm, unsentimental assessment of where ESG stands and what comes next.

#ESG #Sustainability #ResponsibleBusiness #BusinessLeadership #SystemsThinking