BDO USA, the U.S. arm of a global accounting firm, has released survey data showing many U.S.-based chief financial officers are still putting sustainability at the forefront of their business goals despite the Trump administration’s efforts to reverse Biden-era climate change policies.


According to the survey, companies that integrate sustainability into their core business strategy are significantly more likely (91%) to project increased revenue and profitability compared to their peers (74%).

Other key findings include:

  • Almost 50% of CFOs believe their involvement in environmental, social and governmental strategy and execution will grow over the next 12 months.
  • 21% of respondents are actively working on sustainability strategy integration.
  • Employee health and well-being (40%) is the area of sustainability most CFOs plan to focus on the most, followed by sustainable product development (39%) and cost reduction (35%).


“These findings reinforce what we’ve been hearing from our members – that sustainability is smart business and a focal point for futureproofing in an increasingly uncertain landscape,” says Elizabeth Wimbush, director of sustainability and responsibility at PPAI.

These findings reinforce what we’ve been hearing from our members – that sustainability is smart business and a focal point for futureproofing in an increasingly uncertain landscape.”

Elizabeth Wimbush

Director of Sustainability & Responsibility, PPAI

“The measurable returns and specifically the stat that 91% of organizations integrating sustainability into their business strategies expect increased revenue shows us how interrelated the economic and societal benefits are. It’s interesting to see the high percentage of CFOs now also measuring the cost of inaction in the realm of climate change and regulatory pressures as well.”

Trump’s Stance On Sustainability

President Trump has targeted sustainability since his first day in office, when he rolled back environmental protections, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement – a decade-old international pact to fight climate change – and signed the “Unleashing American Energy” executive order, which declared a national energy emergency to speed liquified natural gas export permitting.

Another major outcome of the order requires the Environmental Protect Agency to rewrite its 2009 finding that says greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare, which has been critical for regulating greenhouse gas emissions.

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EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has also frozen over $20 billion in funds from President Biden’s landmark climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, that were meant to go to non-profits focused on climate change.

“America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have: the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth,” Trump said during his inauguration speech. “And we are going to use it.”

This is a complete change from the Biden administration’s transition away from fossil fuel use, and this isn’t the only Biden-era reversal Trump has done. He also signed orders aimed at promoting oil and gas development in Alaska – which revoked Biden’s efforts to protect Arctic lands and U.S. coastal waters from drilling – and reversed Biden’s target for EV adoption and suspended offshore wind lease sales.