To better understand the current appetite for sustainable investment, it is useful to look at the slowing proliferation of sustainability-focused publications. The growth of this subset of the media has tailed off, and in fact is now in decline, reflecting changing patterns of demand for sustainability itself.
While European investors have largely maintained a strong commitment to sustainable investing, the growing legal and regulatory scrutiny of ESG amongst US investors, often away from climate-driven considerations, has had its effects on the industry across the Atlantic, too.
Outflows from sustainable funds by US investors continued in Q1 2025 for the tenth quarter in row, according to Morningstar. Interestingly, the period also marked the first quarter of net outflows from sustainable funds by European investors.
This shift has had a significant impact on media titles reporting on sustainable investment in the UK and Europe as well. Particularly notable has been the closure of several specialist ESG and sustainability publications in the UK in recent years.
Just a few years ago, new ESG publications were appearing regularly and mainstream titles launched dedicated coverage and podcast series. Now, of the eight most popular sustainable investment titles in the UK, three have closed in the last two years. Sustainable Investment and Capital Monitor ceased publication in 2023, while ESG Investor announced its closure at the end of April 2025.
According to JPES Partners research, 63% of the top sustainable investing publications in the UK launched between 2020-2022, at the tail end of the ‘ESG heyday’. Of the other three titles, one launched in 2018, another in 2007, and finally, Environmental Finance in 1999, making it the most longstanding publication in the space.
Although the long-term direction of travel itself is unclear, it is evident that the sustainable investment industry, and the communications around it, are bound for further change. It is perhaps not a surprise that as investment firms have retreated from talking too publicly on ESG, not wanting to harm their ability to grow in the US, specialist publications have struggled.
We have also seen the closure of several sustainability or environmentally focused industry initiatives such as the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, Net Zero Banking Alliance, exits from GFANZ, and several exits from NZICI.
Investor sentiment regarding sustainable investing continues to evolve in multiple directions. The recent contraction of sustainability-focused media, and likely weakened financial support from key players, suggests that the nexus of influence over sustainability narratives is shifting.
Today, high profile individuals and institutions are stepping into the vacuum left by traditional media and policymakers, resulting in a more fragmented and contested vision for the future of sustainable investment. This is leading to a growing uncertainty about who is shaping the sustainability agenda and whether meaningful change in this space can be achieved.