In the first iteration of the survey, conducted in the spring of 2017, we received responses from nearly three dozen CEOs, presidents, executive directors, senior economists, chief scientists, and sustainability managers, representing a wide variety of sectors and industries. Respondents represented a wide range of geographies, sectors, and organizational types (Figures 1-3).
Figure 1. Geographic Reach of Organization.
Figure 2. Type of Organization.
Figure 3. Industry of represented organization.
Responses suggested that in the initial months of the Trump administration almost half of survey respondents reported that they were at least somewhat optimistic about the general state of the environment. That perception changed when looking to the future.Looking ahead five years, more than half the respondents stated that they were somewhat or very pessimistic about environmental conditions in the future (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Impressions of the general state of the environment.
The survey found that climate change is a dominant concern at all spatial scales (Figure 5). Issues pertaining to air quality, water quality, ecosystem resilience, and forest loss are also cited, as are more existential issues like deregulation and an increasing need to justify the need for environmental protection.
Figure 5. The most important environmental issue in the next five years.
A majority of respondents said that the recent election changed their strategy for engaging on environmental issues (Figure 6), while the Trump Administration’s move to deregulate and the physical manifestations of climate change were noted as the most important drivers of change (Figure 7). Some respondents were sanguine about the future, others hopeful that coming challenges will trigger needed innovation, while still others were seeking to directly engage, looking to states and NGOs to fill expected gaps at the federal level. Being adaptable was an ever-present undercurrent to the responses received. Governance and rules to protect the environment were seen as failing to keep pace with changes, particularly in the presence of technology innovation and rapid diffusion and uptake of information.
Figure 6. Changes in engagement due to the 2016 election.
Figure 7. The most significant change related to the environment in the next five year.
Respondents noted that a wide variety of data sources were very important to staying informed on changing environmental conditions (Figure 8). Of the sources cited, academic research, personal experience, professional networks, and public data and forecasts were found to be most important. Similarly, most respondents reported collaborations with outside entities so as to better respond to environmental change (Figure 9).
Figure 8. Information sources to identify emerging environmental issues, by order of importance.
Figure 9. External collaborations to better respond to environmental change.
