Large US-headquartered companies are becoming less explicit about linking executive pay to sustainability goals, Sustainable Views’ analysis of proxy filings reveals.

As businesses rushed to demonstrate their sustainability credentials in the early 2020s, many began making a proportion of executive pay conditional on ESG-related targets or metrics. By 2024, roughly three-quarters of S&P 500 companies embedded some type of environmental, social and governance performance into their executive compensation plans — though approaches have always varied. READ MORE