With ESG Backsliding – First Nations’ Values Provide Critical Leadership

It’s been a number of years since I have written about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues. Like many of you it’s been hard to digest how the global ESG landscape has shifted from slow progress to visible retreat. Governments that once championed climate action have tempered their commitments, and corporations that once led on sustainability have scaled back or walked away entirely. This erosion is striking, especially now, when physical climate impacts are so visible on our daily lives.

Globally, the tone is unmistakable. Two consecutive climate summits, COP29 in Baku and COP30 in Belém, delivered outcomes widely viewed as weak: no significant advance in climate finance, no enforceable fossil-fuel phase-out, and yet another year lost in the Paris Agreement’s ambition. In the United States, the SEC’s climate-risk disclosure rule has been suspended into legal limbo, leaving the world’s largest capital market without a credible federal standard. The EU, long considered the global benchmark, has delayed its anti- deforestation law and weakened its corporate sustainability due-diligence rules, softening the mechanisms meant to protect forests and human rights.

Canada has experienced its own regression. Mandatory climate-disclosure rules have been delayed, major banks have withdrawn from net-zero alliances, and corporate sustainability targets have been softened or shelved.

Ontario is simultaneously entering one of the most consequential phases of infrastructure development in decades including roads, broadband, critical minerals, transmission and generation infrastructure, across the North, including into the Ring of Fire. These projects will cross Traditional and Treaty lands and will shape the next generation of the province’s economic and environmental future.

In an era of global ESG retreat, the natural question emerges: who will uphold the values needed to guide these projects with integrity, balance, and long-term vision? As a pleasant surprise, the answer may lie in the deeply rooted principles of the Ontario First Nations.

As I have embarked on a personal journey to learn more about Ontario First Nations communities, I’ve been struck by the consistency and clarity of their values. These values are not reactive political positions; they are long-standing cultural anchors that align closely with what modern ESG frameworks aspire to be. Three values that I have personally witnessed with a number of First Nation Chiefs over the past 2 months stand out.

1. Stewardship of Land, Water, and Air: Treating land and water as living relatives, prioritizing protection of ecosystems, and planning for seven generations ahead. This is sustainability in its purest form.
2. Self-Determination and Sovereignty: Clear expectations around consultation, consent, and long-term ownership models reflect strong governance principles rooted in rights, responsibility, and accountability.
3. Sustainable Economic Development: Growth that does not harm land or water; preference for renewable projects; and structures such as equity ownership and revenue sharing. These align directly with the best global practices.

At a time when global ESG leadership is wavering, Ontario may find its strongest compass not in corporate scorecards or international agreements, but in the foundational values of the First Nations whose lands these major projects will traverse.

If Ontario’s economic build-out is guided by these principles-land stewardship, self- determination, community well-being, and sustainable development—we can fill the leadership void left by governments and corporations and ensure that the next era of prosperity is not achieved at the expense of future generations.

These values are not just culturally significant—they may be exactly what is needed to get us back on track. What do you think?

A holistic understanding of health—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual—reinforces the “S” in ESG in a way few corporate frameworks do.