Corporate responsibility is long overdue for a watershed moment—a revolution that transforms the way we think about sustainability through the lens of value creation and shifts our understanding of social impact from a nice-to-have to a business imperative.

That sea change may arrive in 2025, a year that will fundamentally rewrite the corporate responsibility playbook. Across sectors, sustainability leaders are buckling up for a turbulent ride, as the second Trump administration promises to create sharp headwinds against the progress that has flourished in recent years.

From business leaders and industry experts, here are five trends that have the potential to create that watershed moment for sustainability and social impact in 2025.

Business wrestles with its role as a firewall

This moment calls for anything but business as usual. According to recent research from BSR, companies face a far more complex combination of challenges today than during the first Trump administration, including economic upheaval and global conflicts, the politicization of ESG and DEI, and a fractured media ecosystem that sows distrust.

But some things haven’t changed since 2017, when companies stepped up their sustainability and social impact commitments in response to federal policy rollbacks. In the absence of government leadership, employees and customers will put pressure on businesses to take action on climate change, human rights, and racial and gender equity.

“We are entering a new era where business will need to wrestle with being a firewall when it comes to preserving norms, values, and rights for their workforce as well as communities where they live and work across the U.S.,” according to Jen Stark, co-director at the Center for Business & Social Justice at BSR. “If efforts to denigrate the social safety net succeed, companies will find themselves having to fill the void in new and unexpected ways.”

Short and long-term priorities collide

While some companies may pull back on impact initiatives in response to short-sighted external pressures, the companies in it for the long haul will recognize that retreating isn’t an option, and inaction on sustainability carries a more significant long-term risk.

“Many companies have gone quiet on sustainability in the last year,” Andrew Winston, sustainability adviser and author, points out. “In the U.S., a new administration is coming in that will be uninterested in or even hostile to sustainability priorities like climate action. That leaves a big gap. But I hope that leaders will recognize that our big challenges aren’t going away and step up, keep their commitments, and take the lead in industry and global discussions.”

This will require a delicate balancing act. As Bea Perez, EVP and global chief communications, sustainability, and strategic partnerships officer at The Coca-Cola Company, says, “A dynamic external environment will require companies to strike the right balance between short-term and long-term priority management. Meaningful progress takes discipline, focus and collective action.”

Impact gets integrated into business strategy

Many companies are embracing discipline and focus through a more integrated approach to impact that weaves environmental and social considerations into the fabric of their business strategy.

For HP’s Michele Malejki, global head of social impact, this means “getting to the heart of what ‘The Future of Work’ means—especially when it comes to digital equity. How do we equip historically disconnected youth and adults with the critical skills needed to not only participate, but really thrive, in an increasingly digital world? Given the size of the global youth population today, it’ll be a defining issue of our time.”

At Nike, the focus is on the potential of sport to drive systemic change for youth. Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP and chief impact officer, shares, “Sport is so much more than a game; it’s a powerful tool for achieving your vision of yourself, community building, youth development, and advancing society. In 2025, sport will emerge as a crucial lever for addressing broader societal issues, from mental health to belonging.”

Jeannette Ferran Astorga, EVP, corporate affairs, communications, and chief sustainability officer at Zoetis, is focused on the connection between animal health, sustainable agriculture, and global food security. “Innovation will remain central to how we address shared challenges in the animal health industry, and we will continue to support livestock farmers with tools that support sustainable production and help meet the nutrition demands of a growing population.”

The ability to connect these dots is an in-demand skillset. As Ellen Weinreb of Weinreb Group Sustainability and ESG Recruiting observes, “My clients look for leaders with broad sustainability experience who also understand value creation and corporate strategy.”

Transparency becomes an advantage

One major marker of the sea change in corporate responsibility is how companies approach transparency and reporting. It isn’t just about compliance—it’s about using disclosure as a strategic tool for business advantage.

As Amanda Gardiner, head of ESG at Meta, points out, “The shifting political environment will almost surely slow recent efforts to regulate corporate sustainability in the U.S. But globally, the focus on regulatory reporting will intensify. Eventually, better sustainability reporting will require better sustainability performance. And that’s good news for CSOs, for whom reporting has always been a tool for driving improvement and creating business value.”

Dave Stangis, partner and chief sustainability officer at Apollo, says, “Transparency can be a competitive advantage and growth opportunity. Enhanced reporting whether regulatory or voluntary can attract discerning investors and stakeholders, ensuring long-term trust and unlocking capital in an increasingly regulated global market.”

The narrative on sustainability changes

2025 may feel like the perfect storm for impact leaders. As Virginia Tenpenny, chief social impact officer at Nationswell, notes, “Not only is the external context for their work changing in important ways—most visibly in the political and cultural arenas—but the sentiments of key internal stakeholders are shifting.” This will require leaders to embrace narrative change as a tool to advance their mandates and shape internal and external audience perceptions.

Corporate responsibility has always been able to swim against political and cultural currents. While the tides will be turning in 2025, sustainability leaders are shaping their own narrative focused on value creation that potentially will drown out the noise.