Sustainable business will move ahead with or without trump’s support

If we take the incoming president of the United States at his word, things look dire for the cause of sustainability. Donald Trump and many of his advisers appear hostile to action on climate change. Even if Trump himself stays ambivalent, Republican leaders have much clearer aims, including extensive plans to slash environmental protections.

Will the seismic shift in U.S. political leadership have a chilling effect on corporate action on environmental issues? The short answer is no. Companies will continue to pursue sustainability in the United States because the macro forces driving the movement remain strong. The major trends didn’t disappear on Election Day:

The Economics of Clean Tech

In short, Trump can’t stop all momentum on the clean economy. The economics are too good. The cost to build and produce solar and wind power, for example, has dropped 60% to 80% since 2010, making it cheaper than grid electricity in most states. And this economic reality holds even without subsidies. Of course, government aid is helping to accelerate the transition, but given the economic boost that clean energy provides to many states, support for wind and solar looks relatively safe in Congress. GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley said that if Trump tries to eliminate the wind tax credit, the president-elect will “do it over my dead body.”

A Changing Climate

I’m not talking about the politics of and governmental action on climate change, such as the Paris Accord, carbon trading schemes or efficiency standards. I mean actual extreme weather and climate change. When Kellogg CEO John Bryant spoke at the Paris meeting, in December 2015, he said that addressing climate change was “mission critical” for the company. One reason is what he described as a “fragile supply chain” where weather shocks can damage grain production — a nice way of saying we don’t know if we can grow enough food. Across other sectors, unprecedented floods and storms around the world have done many billions of dollars of damage to factories, distribution centers and local economies.

More companies are recognizing climate’s systemic risks. A week before the election, General Mills CEO Ken Powell, spoke about his commitment to acting on climate. “I am accountable for enterprise risk,” he said, “and clearly there’s a strong scientific consensus that climate is a risk.” For these reasons and more, hundreds of U.S. CEOs signed a letter to the president-elect that urged him to stay the course on global climate action and building the clean economy.

The Demands of Millennials

They’re the largest generation on the planet and will make up 50% of the global workforce by 2020. A global survey of these 20- and 30-somethings earlier this year showed that 87% believe “the success of a business should be measured in terms of more than just its financial performance.” In their role as employees, millennials want sustainability.

Radical Transparency and Social Media

We’re all growing accustomed to finding any information we want at any time. This includes wanting to know what’s in everything we buy, how it was made, who made it, and so on. The food and consumer products sectors are feeling this trend most acutely. The “clean label” movement is shaking up these industries, forcing companies to use fewer processed and artificial ingredients.

Accelerating this trend is social media, with which people can gather, spread stories and generally make a company miserable. This shift in expectations is driving companies to understand their supply chains better, which then translates into pressure to manage environmental and social issues

Global Commitment and Competitive Pressure

Multinationals operate in many countries where governments publicly support strong action on climate — and 193 countries in the world signed the Paris Accord. Even uncertainty about the U.S. commitment to it likely won’t sink the agreement. China recently sent a message that climate change is no hoax, and France’s President Sarkozy mused about imposing import tariffs on countries that don’t “respect the rules” on carbon reduction. In essence, companies that don’t continue the sustainability journey are going to fall behind and become less competitive in global markets.

The business case for sustainability has been proved over and over again. The companies managing their environmental and social issues are creating business value in multiple ways: They’re saving money, driving innovation, attracting talent and building the brand. None of that has changed, and there’s still tremendous value to unlock. Sustainability has never been solely about government pressure anyway — it’s just good for business.

It would be naïve to think that the president of the United States can’t affect the course of progress toward a clean, sustainable world. But if government is derelict in its duties, business has to lead.