Corporate America’s Energy Whiplash Isn’t Over – Here’s How to Get Ahead of It

Corporate America has seen unprecedented policy whiplash over the last decade, and on no issue more than climate and energy. As we look toward 2027, it’s clear that the rate of change won’t let up anytime soon. So, what’s a public affairs professional to do? We’re glad you asked… 

Make the business case, not the climate one, for diversifying your energy strategy. 

It’s not about hugging trees or slashing emissions just for the sake of a checkmark on an annual sustainability report card (though we are personally pro-tree!) 

Instead, embracing renewable energy will help American companies reduce energy costs and build resilience into their business plans through what’s likely to be a lot more turbulence in the years to come.

Such diversification has the benefit of both being smart business AND smart politics. 

Looking forward, it’s reasonable to expect the policy pendulum to continue its swings, and smart companies need to be able to look beyond the current moment and plan to handle those changes. This is where many companies fell short in the past decade and why they now find themselves in a jam:

Under President Biden, the name of the game was all-green-all-the-time, with corporations rolling out aggressive net zero targets and pledging to curb emissions to combat climate change. When President Trump took office last year, his administration reversed course back toward oil and gas–less of a pendulum swing than a forcible yank.  

Some American companies publicly welcomed that rightward shift and enjoyed a more relaxed energy regulatory environment in the U.S. (even though many of them have international presences that limited how much they could actually retreat from their overall climate commitments).

Others kept their heads down to avoid attracting negative attention from an administration with an unprecedented willingness to leverage its bully pulpit. Even some companies that consider themselves to be “pro-climate” deleted scorecards from their homepages and quietly reorganized their ESG teams to try to escape notice (and punishment). 

Now, a year and a half into President Trump’s second term, an on-again, off-again conflict with Iran makes relying on oil and gas a major financial, security, and continuity risk for American firms. All while AI sends projections of future energy needs skyrocketing, and policymakers struggle to keep up. 

…and all that’s before we even consider that forecasters expect a more climate-focused Congress to take office in 2027. Environmentally-minded political leaders (who are likely to hold congressional gavels) don’t take kindly to companies backing away from their climate commitments.

Companies that have maintained their commitments and made quiet progress on environmental goals will be well-positioned to re-emerge as leaders when the political winds shift the levers of power.

Making the business case for energy diversification is a simply-articulated strategy, but it’s not a simple one to execute. Organizations run the risk of alienating stakeholders on all sides if they don’t align their words to their enterprise’s mission. 

As both parties grapple with existential questions of their own identities heading into the 2028 presidential cycle, making the range of possible future policy and climate outcomes a wide one, companies must strategically and flexibly position themselves. By using their enterprise mission and values as a north star to guide both internal decision making and external communications, smart organizations can effectively navigate the choppy waters to come.  

The window between now and 2027 is an important opportunity for businesses to get their houses in order, both in terms of message and public affairs. We can help you not only prepare for shifting balances of power in 2027 and 2028, but also navigate the future energy landscape.