Three years ago, the Swiss private bank that employs Matteo Zanchi as its head of strategic planning launched a suite of fully sustainable investment vehicles.
Now, the bank is gradually closing these products or absorbing them into existing, broader offerings. Environmental, social and governance issues are seen increasingly “as a regulatory obligation rather than a real opportunity for change”, says Zanchi, a recent graduate of the executive programme in finance at Milan business school POLIMI, where he was taught to view business through a broader, values-driven lens.
As the political climate in the US sends a chill wind through ESG initiatives, including diversity, equity and inclusion, business schools around the world find themselves at a crossroads.
They could take a lead from large companies, such as Walmart and Boeing, which have backpedalled on DEI programmes since Donald Trump’s re-election, or from oil producers that have reconsidered green pledges — such as BP.
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But rather than retreating, many business schools are responding with renewed commitment, underlining their executive education programmes as places for progress, resilience and strategy-driven leadership.
Federico Frattini, POLIMI dean, is clear about the stakes: “Business schools have been and will continue to be a place where they teach future leaders to prioritise sustainability in everything they do.” As the first European business school to achieve B-Corp certification — an accreditation of commitment to putting social and environmental concerns on an equal footing with financial ones — POLIMI remains steadfast, says Frattini, in embedding ESG across all educational offerings, despite global political challenges.
The message from business schools is consistent: the rollback of DEI and environmental goals in corporate America may shift the tone, but it has not changed the core curriculum priorities of executive education providers.
In any case, the corporate retreat from DEI and sustainability is short-sighted, says Barbara Stöttinger, dean of executive education at HEC Paris, noting that global companies can’t simply opt out of these commitments: “Compliance with DEI and sustainability regulations isn’t optional — it’s a requirement across multiple jurisdictions, not just the United States. And while there may be a visible backlash in some markets, stepping back from these topics creates risks, not just reputationally but in terms of talent attraction, innovation and long-term value creation.”
For Stöttinger, these are not ideological stances but business imperatives. HEC Paris, she says, treats DEI and sustainability as “lenses” through which leaders can better navigate workforce dynamics.
“Equipping leaders with the tools to lead across cultures, manage a multi-faceted workforce, promote sustainable business models to preserve our planet for the generations to come — that’s not political, it’s just good business education.”
Smaranda Boros, management professor at Vlerick Business School, highlights the complexity of European responses to US-centric DEI rollbacks. While some companies are abandoning commitments they never fully embraced, she notes that many are now seeking deeper tools to embed diversity structurally, rather than symbolically. Boros adds that DEI is increasingly seen as a change management issue, with rising demand for training in inclusive leadership and broader diversity topics such as age, neurodiversity and disability.
However, executive education must evolve to help leaders rethink DEI frameworks from the ground up, says Drew Mallory, inclusion ambassador at the Sasin School of Management in Thailand. “Culturally intelligent inclusion isn’t merely an admirable concept — it can be a core driver of innovation, resilience and tangible success. But ignoring local context, as was done in the USA and around the world, poses a significant risk, while embracing it unlocks substantial opportunities,” says Mallory. He also promotes the idea of schools such as Sasin serving as “living laboratories” for developing DEI strategies tailored to specific cultural and economic realities.
As the global head of sustainability at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Jeremy Osborn enrolled on the Oxford Sustainable Business Programme offered by Saïd Business School and the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment — to immerse himself in the latest research on sustainability and climate change and how it will impact business.
While the Trump administration may prompt organisations to rethink how they talk about sustainability, the underlying business shift towards sustainable models remains, says Osborn, who believes the backlash may actually deepen demand for expertise.
“What is changing is how the term ‘sustainability’ is being defined and used by business,” he says. “This will continue to evolve, influenced by factors such as politics and the need to produce financial results.” Osborn says he views this moment as an opportunity for professionals like him to provide nuanced guidance as companies calibrate their sustainability commitments over different time horizons.
The demand for experiential, DEI and ESG-focused education is clear, according to the most recent GMAC Prospective student survey. Two-thirds of potential students said that equity and inclusion, as well as sustainability, are important or very important to their academic experience.
Similarly, custom executive education enquiries have increased 216 per cent year-on-year at the Smith School, says Giovani Palafox-Alcantar, its head of executive education: “If these [ESG and DEI topics] become more contentious, that makes being well informed about them even more relevant.”