# The Case For Ditching 5 Underlying Sustainability Assumptions.

1 Opinion November 5, 2025 Trellis ![Alison Taylor Article 230 x 260](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/Alison%20Taylor%20Article%20230%20x%20260.png?itok=bqXNQmQV)By Alison Taylor

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In conversations all year, I keep hearing the argument that we’re in the middle of a “healthy correction” from the alleged ideologically driven excesses of 2018 to 2021. In response, the prevailing advice is to double down on the business case, while avoiding political backlash.

Although this is a convenient narrative, it’s not a very convincing one. During this peak of enthusiasm, the business case narrative also dominated, but tended to be framed as a broad, unstoppable, win-win trajectory that would benefit everyone. This was always unrealistic. A shift to acknowledging trade-offs would’ve occurred even without the political headwinds in the U.S. today.

Rather than just doubling down on ROI arguments (which themselves are nothing new), there’s a need for a bigger philosophical shift. I’m not only thinking of the risks from an anti-climate action U.S. administration or commitments, goals and aspirations that have become dangerous. I mean something more fundamental — the underlying assumptions and theory of change no longer hold, so we need a new approach.

Read the full [*Trellis* article](https://trellis.net/article/the-case-for-ditching-5-underlying-sustainability-assumptions/).

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*Alison Taylor is a Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Stern.*

## More from Alison Taylor

- [Why We’re All Part of Sustainability's Elitism Problem.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/why-were-all-part-sustainabilitys-elitism-problem)
- [Beyond "Good" and "Bad": How to Measure Corporate Sustainability.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/beyond-good-and-bad-how-measure-corporate-sustainability)
- [Is That Brand’s Mission For Real? Here’s How to Spot BS.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/brands-mission-real-heres-how-spot-bs)
- [4 Leadership Tips to Start a Sustainability Career in 2025.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/4-leadership-tips-start-sustainability-career-2025)
- [How Wall Street Wound Up the Last Bastion of Support For Diversity.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/how-wall-street-wound-last-bastion-support-diversity)