Column: Why the Claim "Woke, Go Broke" No Longer Holds Up

Column for Impact Loop

Eight out of ten business leaders increased their sustainability investments last year, according to a new global study. The claim “go woke, go broke” simply no longer holds up. On the contrary: ESG efforts are now driving growth, writes Kalle Nilvér, founder of GoClimate, in a column for Impact Loop.

Eight out of ten business leaders increased their sustainability investments last year, according to a new global study. The claim “go woke, go broke” simply no longer sticks. On the contrary: ESG initiatives are now driving growth, writes Kalle Nilvér, founder of GoClimate, in this column.

83 percent.

That’s the share of companies in Deloitte’s new C-suite report that say they increased their sustainability investments over the past year. Fourteen percent even ramped up investments by more than 20 percent.

If “ESG” supposedly died somewhere between Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and U.S. culture-war politics, why does the money keep flowing into sustainability?

The most interesting figure in the report isn’t 83 percent. It’s 66. That’s the share of executives who say their sustainability work is now driving revenue growth. Not risk mitigation. Not PR. Revenue.

Sustainability Drives Revenue

It doesn’t get much clearer than that: sustainability has shifted from a moral obligation to a matter of revenue. It has moved from hype—like we perhaps experienced in Sweden a few years ago—to concrete business value.

When Deloitte’s 2,100 executives in 27 countries list their biggest strategic challenges for the coming year, “climate change/sustainability” ranks at the top. Sustainability is not just something mentioned in the annual sustainability report; it’s at the top of the future agenda.

ESG Persists Despite Pressure

What makes this year’s report especially interesting is that even though pressure from regulators, owners, civil society, and employees has decreased, companies are not cutting sustainability efforts—because these investments drive revenue, increase financing opportunities, and reduce costs.

The claim “go woke, go broke” simply no longer holds.

A technology trend is also emerging.

Implementing tech solutions is now the most common sustainability action companies take, followed by more sustainable materials, energy efficiency, and improved measurement and analysis of environmental data.

And AI has shifted from buzzword to toolbox:

• Almost all executives say their company is already using AI in sustainability work or plans to do so next year.
• Common uses include identifying efficiencies, optimizing energy and resource use, monitoring data for reporting, and modeling risks and scenarios.

This matters because measurability has long been the major hurdle. Tracking emissions, supply chains, and climate-related risks has been seen as expensive, complex, and administratively heavy.

When these same systems suddenly help the CFO free up capex, cut energy bills, and reduce insurance and financing costs—it’s no longer just an “ESG cost.” It becomes ROI.

But it’s not all sunshine and blue skies.

ESG Is ROI

The report also shows that companies are scaling back certain sustainability activities—primarily where the benefits don’t immediately show up in their own P&L.

• Fewer companies now require suppliers to meet specific sustainability criteria compared to last year.
• Lobbying and political donations in favor of environmental initiatives have also declined.

In other words: where sustainability supports the company’s own balance sheet—energy efficiency, better data, new green products—progress is fast. In other areas, progress slows or reverses.

It’s a bit like doing climate action as long as it fits within the Q4 budget.

For Swedish companies—large and small—the report sends three clear signals:

1. Sustainability is a top priority, not a side issue.
   If 45 percent of global C-suite leaders rank climate/sustainability among the top three challenges—on par with tech and AI—you can’t treat CSRD, VSME, or the climate strategy as an Excel file buried deep in the organization.
2. Those who can quantify business value will win.
   When two-thirds already say sustainability drives revenue—and more than half see lower costs and higher resilience—the next competitive edge will be about how well you quantify it, not whether you do it at all.
3. Greenwashing will become more expensive.
   As investments increase, so do demands for data quality and verifiability—from auditors, banks, customers, and regulators. Several independent analyses show that investors increasingly distrust broad sustainability claims without hard numbers.

The gap between “we’re doing good things” and “our climate data is integrated into core systems and fully auditable” will now be like the difference between a LinkedIn post with a few likes and a full order book.

As sustainability becomes increasingly data-driven, GoClimate’s automated sustainability platform helps companies turn their financial data into a complete, VSME-aligned sustainability report — making measurable progress easier than ever. Check it out!