Sustainability firm folds due to shift in climate policy, Change By Degrees co-founder Tara Shine said its market all but vanished after the EU's omnibus measure scaled back key sustainability directives, illustrating how policy shifts can erase demand for advisory services.
At the same time, reporting shows an uneven corporate response to climate goals. Bloomberg reported that Coca Cola, BP, FedEx and other global brands have quietly dropped or weakened climate commitments, and that more than 4,000 companies had made pledges in recent decades but many are now retreating.
A separate analysis cited rising emissions and abandoned targets at major technology companies, saying Microsoft and Google recently stepped back from carbon neutrality goals while noting reported increases in their emissions of 29 percent and 50 percent respectively over recent years.
One overview stressed the picture is mixed, adding that although a fraction of firms have pulled back, many companies continue to pursue sustainability quietly or double down on renewable investments, driven by market pressure, investors and state or international rules.
Bloomberg quoted Tufts professor Ken Pucker saying corporate retreat exposes the limits of voluntary action and points to the need for enforceable regulation, while other reporting highlighted corporate contradictions where companies publicly back climate goals yet support trade groups that resist policy change.
Policy Changes And Market Consequences
The federal policy environment has shifted sharply. An analysis of three executive orders signed on January 20, 2025 described actions titled Declaring a National Energy Emergency, Unleashing American Energy, and Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements.
Those orders accelerate fossil fuel permitting, suspend some environmental reviews, halt new offshore wind leases and invoke the Defense Production Act to prioritize domestic fossil fuel supply chains, according to the executive order analysis.
The analysis also said the orders rescind prior climate-focused directives, pause certain renewable program disbursements and begin withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, while noting that state laws and international regulations like the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive continue to press companies for disclosure.
Analysts warned the split between federal deregulatory moves and stronger state or international rules creates regulatory fragmentation, raises litigation and reputational risks, and may push corporations to shoulder more climate finance and disclosure obligations themselves.
