Buyer’s Remorse Hits Finance Bosses Who ‘Overhired’ for ESG

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They’re often “frustrated and disillusioned,” he said. 

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Scott Atkinson, global managing partner of the sustainability and climate practice at Heidrick & Struggles, says he’s seeing a similar trend. “Where we are right now is: Can you deliver returns at or above the level of traditional investments,” he said in an interview.

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Since 2022, when job growth for ESG professionals soared 120%, demand for such qualifications has ground to a virtual halt, according to data compiled for Bloomberg by Live Data Technologies, an employment researcher. Examples include adjustments that are being made at some of the world’s biggest banks.

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In the UK, HSBC Holdings Plc recently parted ways with a chief sustainability officer whose background included more than six years at the nonprofit We Mean Business. Now, the CSO role no longer reports directly to the chief executive officer of Europe’s largest bank, and is instead occupied by someone who used to be HSBC’s head of global banking for the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkiye.

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The development is even more pronounced on the other side of the Atlantic. Wells Fargo & Co., which abandoned its net zero goals in February, has done away with the role of CSO. The highest ESG title at the bank is now its head of sustainability, which isn’t part of the C-suite.

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On Wall Street, which has turned its back on net zero alliances, firms are dropping “ESG” from job titles. And globally, less than 7% of people who took on an ESG role in 2020 still retain an ESG title today, according to figures provided by Live Data Technologies.

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The sustainability conference-circuit is also less active, with organizers looking for opportunities to save costs. For example, the annual GreenFin conference in New York, one of America’s biggest sustainable finance gatherings, has now been combined with other climate-focused events.

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Trump’s return to the Oval office, and his administration’s vocal disdain for climate and DEI issues, has acted as a further brake on ESG hiring across America. In New York, the pace of year-on-year ESG job growth was just 1.5% in February after contracting in June by 1.8%, an all-time low, according to Revelio Labs, a firm that analyzes workforces.

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“Trump has delayed any recovery from damage that was already done,” said Neil Farrell, a London-based recruiter who focuses on sustainability.

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Those ESG professionals still getting jobs tend to be specialized in the minutiae of things like European regulations, with almost 90% of CSOs saying they now spend more time on regulation and compliance than they used to, according to a recent survey by Weinreb Group.

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ESG professionals still have a place in the financial sector, said Ellen Weinreb, a sustainability recruiter in San Francisco. 

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“There are definitely still jobs out there,” she said. “But fewer.”

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Here are five key takeaways from the first morning of the BNEF summit in New York:

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(Adds reference to BNEF summit highlights in final paragraphs.)

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