What social impact and sustainability executives are telling us about 2024

As we begin the new year, I’m reflecting on what I’ve learned from NationSwell’s incredible community of social impact and sustainability executives. Since joining NationSwell as Chief Experience Officer last spring, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with leaders across a range of forums – roundtables, intimate dinners, public events, individual meetings, research interviews, and much more.?

A few particularly unique, data-driven insights into leadership experience came from NationSwell’s annual Private Sector Social Impact and Sustainability Leadership Survey . The survey respondents are individuals who oversee ESG, corporate social responsibility, corporate philanthropy, sustainability and related functions at the VP level and above. The 74 participants represent 67 unique companies, 24 of which are among the Fortune 1000.?

Their responses add surprising nuance and clarification to several of the big conversations happening in the social impact and sustainability spaces this year, including the anti-ESG movement, the rapid emergence of generative AI, the effects of macroeconomic conditions, and more.?

Here are the five findings that I found most intriguing, and how they’re informing my thinking for this year:

Leaders anticipate a difficult year in 2024, and their confidence has faltered: over two thirds of leaders (68%) think this year will be “somewhat” or “very” challenging for their work. Only 16% think 2024 will be any level of “accommodating,” dropping from 30% that anticipated it would be so in 2023. Only 31% of leaders report feeling “very” or “extremely” confident about the year ahead, compared to 46% in 2022.

My take: Given the macro forces in play, I’m not surprised by a less than rosy outlook from leaders about the year ahead. At the same time, I’m struck by the amount of strategic progress and innovation that leaders have made over the past year under difficult circumstances. Accepting the inevitability of challenging moments for our field, I believe that communities of practice like NationSwell will be essential venues for engaging in hard, generative conversations in the year ahead – with the goal of finding innovative and actionable solutions.?

Looking to 2024, leaders are focused on the economy and regulatory + legislative activity: in 2023, 46% of social impact and sustainability leaders reported a decrease in budget for their department; 15% reported layoffs. Given these impacts and ongoing uncertainty, leaders point toward macroeconomic conditions (62%) as the most likely external factor to impact their work in 2024. Regulatory and legislative activity follows in second place (50%).

My take: In 2024, I anticipate that additional institutional attention and support – including financial – will be directed toward sustainability leaders and their teams in order to meet increasing regulatory demands. I expect (and hope) that we'll see a continued increase in new Chief Sustainability Officer positions. But, I worry a bit about support for corporate DEIB and social impact work and would like to see renewed investment in those areas. As we begin 2024, I am wondering, how can we strengthen a robust business case for social impact and DEIB investment??

Two of our field’s most-covered topics this year – the anti-ESG movement and rapid emergence of generative AI – haven’t dramatically disrupted the work: just 15% of leaders said that the anti-ESG movement was one of the top issues impacting their work in 2023, and 75% reported “no” or “limited” impact of AI on their work.

My take: Despite their modest impacts in 2023, I’m not convinced that anti-ESG forces (particularly those attacking DEIB programs right now) and AI won’t show up in a big way in 2024. The coming election is almost guaranteed to make both issues major concerns for businesses, their leaders, and the public writ large. And, while AI might not disrupt impact work, I expect it’ll become ubiquitous, embedded in tools impact leaders use everyday.?

To be more confident about the year ahead, leaders need more from their C-suite: to feel more confident in their jobs going forward, leaders want engagement and accountability from the C-suite (43%) above a larger budget (38%) and a larger team (34%). When asked what capabilities they wish they had more support on in the coming 12 months, the ability to successfully influence executives and board members ranked highest (42%).?

My take: It’s no surprise, but this data underscores the critical role of executive and board champions in making real progress on social and environmental goals. And for social impact and sustainability leaders, influence over those stakeholders is a much-valued currency. Over the next year, I’d like our field to create more structured opportunities to collaborate and share effective strategies for C-suite and board engagement, with the goal of preserving or regaining internal momentum. We at NationSwell will certainly help our members manage up, and we look forward to sharing what we learn.??

As I plan for 2024, I’m keen to hear your thoughts on this data. Where do you see the field of social impact and sustainability heading next year? Let’s discuss.