Asset Managers, Asset Owners, Corporates and non-profits.
Market update Q1:
Quarter 2:
I often say that the sentiment we are seeing at Farrell is a bellwether for the general commitment to sustainability. We see our volumes of work rise, and fall in response to organisation’s strategic growth, and, we speak to the decision makers who tell us their plans.
Below, I outline what I am seeing across the sustainability value chain (investor/funders, energy, corporates, and charities).
Financial Services:
I get, by far, the most outreach from clients, candidates and journalists on this topic. And while the US makes up about 50% of what we do, it has a profound effect on the rest of the work we do in Europe and the Middle East.
The uncertainty of who will be elected POTUS has been replaced with uncertainty around what POTUS will do. However, I would argue that it is not as bad as might be expected, and that the real damage to sustainability sentiment was done by republicans, at state level, during the Biden administration.
There has been a mass scale back on sustainability commitments, juniorization of roles, and dismantling of teams, but mostly between 2022-2024.
What we saw in Q1 of 2025 was a lot of policy announcements, but maybe not the time for the policy to come into effect. A real-world example might be the SEC’s guidance around 13D and 13G.
Seems like a profound shift, but there continued to be more hiring in governance in the US (and UK/Europe) than anything else. It is still required by asset owners as a key data point when looking to invest (what is your stewardship policy? How big is your team? Do you really mean it?).
I might be wrong, but my sense is that the current uncertainty is holding back growth, rather than pushing things into a worse state than they were before. In short, I think we are the beginning of the most hidden recovery in history.
https://www.sustainableviews.com/how-the-sec-is-blocking-investor-dialogue-on-esg-c3c29487/
There is still hiring, but it is at the junior and mid-level, and no one has broken ranks to declare a growth agenda. We think that this will not happen until political uncertainty has died down, but more importantly until rates and inflation are even lower. We are then positive about growth, but with a new flavour (sustainability as a pragmatic value creator).
Corporate sustainability:
It remains to be seen what the EU’s loosening of CSRD might do to the sentiment around sustainability, but in the short term, it looks like the main effect is on the consulting firms helping businesses ready themselves for submission.
Companies we have spoken to are still going ahead at the same time frame, because they had put so much resource the reporting requirements already.
Where we are seeing a more profound shift, is in the move from sustainability as a marketing tool, to a value creator. Businesses, particular those that rely on rapid and vast supply cains are learning that it is important to promote best practice, and influence communities and governments to enhance the lives of everyone in their supply chain. This not only creates impact but also creates business growth and value.
An example: https://growingcommunities.org/key-principles
Charities and non-profits:
My perception is that if any part of the value chain has been hit by Trump’s policies and tariffs it has been those organisations that rely on funding to operate. Speaking to people after USAID was axed was worrying to say the least. The article below gives an overview:
We have examples of firms who were looking to recruit in Q1, who have had to push back their hiring due to uncertainty and funding issues. Worse than this are the stranded communities that relied on the funding to have some sort of quality of life.
The main hope is that the uncertainty will blow over, and that we will return to some sort of growth.
For organisations in this space who have kept their funding, there is an unabashed growth agenda, and there is a sense that these this is a good destination for people who feel like they want to be building something.
