Revisiting Sustainability: From Greenwashing to Meaningful Change

John Elkington, sustainability advisor and founder of Volans, recently appeared on SHRM’s Tomorrowist podcast. A summary of that conversation appears below.

When you think about environmental activism, you might picture angry protesters challenging big corporations they see as villains. However, John Elkington, founder of the U.K. think tank and advisory firm Volans, takes a different approach. Often referred to as “the godfather of sustainability” and credited with introducing the term “triple bottom line” in the 1990s (a framework for measuring business success through people, planet, and profit), Elkington opts instead to work alongside executives to drive meaningful change.

On Tomorrowist, Elkington reflected on his career and his influence on corporate sustainability. “If I had to take just one thing that I’m happy to have been involved in, it is bringing the ... firstly environmental and then wider sustainability agenda into boardrooms in different parts of the world,” he said. As companies brag about sustainability scorecards, you may ask if we’ve truly achieved meaningful environmental and corporate sustainability goals. Elkington’s answer: Not yet, but we’re closer.

Greenwashing Can Prevent Real Progress

While some companies have genuine intentions, many critics see environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and other sustainability efforts as mere greenwashing—a PR ploy that often results in backward outcomes. Elkington addressed the contentious landscape of ESG ratings, citing inconsistencies where legacy companies such as Philip Morris and ExxonMobil rank higher than sustainability pioneers such as Tesla. 

“We’ve seen a boom in ESG, environmental, social, and governance investment. And so everyone and their donkey suddenly wants to have their own fund,” Elkington said. “It’s all over the place because the methodologies are very often still immature. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t strong ones that will evolve and succeed over time, but it’s a bit of a mess. So in a way, the ESG recession is inevitable.” Still, that doesn’t mean the momentum behind sustainability has come to a halt.

Elkington celebrated the rise of impactful technologies, including solar energy, wind power, and electric vehicles, and recounted a pivotal moment that changed his perspective on how to work with business leaders. An executive once told him, “We’ve invested, as a company, a great deal of time and effort and capital [in] building technologies, products, and so on that are greener, but no one seems to want them.” Elkington embraced this as a personal challenge.

Today, he sees progress. “You only need to look at things like solar, wind, battery, like electric vehicles. These technologies are suddenly taking off in an exponential way,” he said. Another way, he explained, is in the application of AI. 

AI’s Emerging Role in Sustainability

Newer forms of artificial intelligence have become a target for sustainability advocates concerned about their high level of energy consumption. Elkington, on the other hand, praised AI’s potential to address the bigger picture and solve sustainability challenges. “I’ve spent some time recently visiting some of the companies involved in evolving AI. I have to say what’s really striking about, at least the people I’ve met, is how interested they have been in the sustainability agenda,” he said. “They’re looking for advice as to how to do that—they develop their technologies, products, and services in an appropriate way.” 

Elkington argued that AI is indispensable for systemic change, even as its implementation poses risks and complexities. “My conclusion at the moment is that AI will cause a mess of different issues and challenges, but we cannot get to anything like sustainability without adopting it and adopting it at scale,” he said.

So what does the future look like for corporate leaders? Whether their motivations are to protect the planet or merely protect their image, how do they prioritize a “triple bottom line” and ensure long-term success?

Advice for Leaders in a Rapidly Changing Market

Elkington advised business leaders to focus on long-term incentives, rather than short-term wins. Criticism is inevitable, even for those with the best intentions, and Elkington himself has faced challenges from other sustainability advocates. “This is about what markets will demand of industries and companies like yours in the future,” he said. “And you’ve really got to get in there, and you’ve got to talk to the people who are shaping that future. And the sooner you do it, the better.”

Elkington called for businesses, investors, activists, and visionaries to collaborate to drive meaningful progress. “If people say we’ve made no progress, I say we’ve made more progress than you could possibly imagine,” he said, urging leaders to embrace this pivotal moment for change. “I think we’re going to see more change in the next 10 to 15 years than in the last half-century.”