ESG Event Recap - 2025

For me, 2025 was a year of getting away from the screen. We at Nossa attended more events and met more clients in-person than in previous years, reinforcing what I learned early in my career.The most useful insights don’t come from flash headlines, reg updates, or hot takes about the politicisation of ESG.

They come from osmosis, being in the same room as the leading teams who are actually making decisions under real constraints.From discussions on the omnibus, to breakfasts with about ratings, to CWNYC, and various other events, a few themes kept showing up:

𝟭. 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. We’re entering a world of longer reports, more metrics, and more coverage, but not always more consistency. One conversation that stuck with me was the practical challenge investors face when formats vary wildly: tables, charts, narrative, colour-codes... All of this makes like-for-like analysis harder to grasp.

𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲. Physical climate risk is increasingly being discussed in geolocation-specific terms. One of the clearest leading indicators I heard repeatedly this year was insurance. When pricing tightens or coverage disappears in exposed areas, it’s a signal that risk is becoming undeniably material

𝟯. “𝗘𝗦𝗚” 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗘𝗦𝗚 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱... ESG reporting didn’t dominate the agenda in the same way, but is unclear whether it is just becoming less important though. It's being more absorbed into strategy and is now more threaded into broader conversations on resilience, geopolitics, tariffs, and more, despite the disappearance of headline acronyms (ESG, DEI, etc)

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𝟰. 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 “𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻” 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿. Despite noise and periodic backtracking, the year left me with a clearer view that regulation is not disappearing. It’s evolving unevenly, with speedbumps and uncertainty around preparation. Still, we shouldn’t simply look at the positives and need to acknowledge how confusing the landscape has become

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𝟱. 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗘𝗦𝗚 𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲.” Even w/ shifting narratives, strong commitments from the people doing the work, whether through actionable strategy or by advocating for transparency are keeping corporates moving in the right direction, even when they’re seemingly slowing down, in what was a scarier year for sustainability

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Big thanks to everyone who made time to meet this year: clients, peers, organisers, and colleagues.

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