Key Takeaways
- North America remains the backlash epicenter but has eased from its 2025 peak: 84 percent of North American experts report significant backlash in 2026, still the highest of any region, but down seven points from 91 percent in 2025 and close to its 2024 level (83%).
- Europe is the only region where perceived backlash has risen every year: Perceived backlash in Europe has climbed 18 points in two years, from 59 percent in 2024 to 71 percent in 2025 and 77 percent in 2026, narrowing the gap with North America from 24 points to just 7 points.
- Backlash increased significantly in Latin America and is edging higher in Asia-Pacific: Perceived backlash in Latin America and the Caribbean jumped 23 points in 2025, from 37 percent to 60 percent, and has remained at a similar level in 2026 (59%). Asia-Pacific remains the least affected region at 44 percent, but has risen 8 points since 2024.
Backlash Against Sustainability Is Spreading, Not Fading
The Sustainability at a Crossroads 2026 survey, conducted by GlobeScan, ERM, and Volans, asked 610 experts across 57 countries how they feel about the current state of the sustainability agenda, including how significant they believe the current backlash is in their own country. Tracking the results by region over three years shows that the perceived levels of backlash differ enormously from one region to the next, and that the regional picture has shifted considerably since 2024.
North America remains the epicenter, with 84 percent of experts reporting significant backlash in 2026. But Europe has closed the gap quickly, rising from 59 percent in 2024 to 71 percent in 2025 and 77 percent in 2026. The gap between the two regions has consequently narrowed from 24 percentage points to just 7 percentage points in two years.
Elsewhere, the sharp increase recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2025 has persisted, with 59 percent of experts reporting significant backlash in 2026, compared with just 37 percent in 2024. Asia-Pacific continues to report substantially lower levels of backlash, but perceptions of resistance have also increased gradually, from 36 percent in 2024 to 44 percent in 2026.
The result is a markedly different regional picture from two years ago. In 2024, North America stood apart, with perceived backlash far exceeding levels elsewhere. Today, North America remains the most affected region, but is much less of an outlier. What initially appeared to be a predominantly North American phenomenon is now much more widely reported, particularly in Europe, while perceived backlash remains elevated in Latin America and is gradually rising in Asia-Pacific.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The persistence of perceived backlash suggests that organizations should not treat resistance to sustainability as a temporary phenomenon. In many markets, a more contested environment is becoming an enduring part of the context in which sustainability strategies are developed and delivered. At the same time, large regional differences mean there is no single global backlash to navigate. Understanding how resistance is evolving across markets and what is driving it will be increasingly important for setting priorities, making investment decisions, and building resilient sustainability strategies.
Find out more about how sustainability experts see the future of the sustainability agenda evolving in our upcoming report, Sustainability at a Crossroads 2026.
How This Insight Was Generated: This analysis draws on insights from the Sustainability at a Crossroads survey, completed by 610 sustainability experts across 57 countries between June and August, 2026, with comparisons to the 2024 and 2025 waves.
Survey Question: How significant do you think the current backlash against the sustainability agenda (including ESG) is in your country at this time in 2026?
