Boardroom

From Paramita Das’s lens as a leading global executive in industrials and critical minerals, we asked her the most pressing questions on the future of ESG and Sustainability. Be it the rise of AI and automation, tariffs, the rolling out of China+1, or other geopolitical issues, business leaders will have to be ready for a myriad of new challenges in 2025 and beyond.

With an “American First” philosophy, President Trump will bring structural shifts to U.S. domestic economy and America’s approach to trade, foreign policy, and investment flows. As Trump takes office today, he will push aggressively to sign what he can immediately. Business will feel immediate pressure and have to navigate peripheral clatter. This will be especially true for businesses that are resource- and knowledge-intensive with global operations. Expect greater deregulation, sweeping tax reform, enhanced competition with China, and a reconfiguration of global supply chains due to broad tariffs, levies, duties, and import/export bans. Corporate directors will have to ensure readiness to absorb major policy shocks and redirects in Q1 and well beyond.

Uncontrolled wildfires continue to menace and destroy communities in Los Angeles under a rare red flag warning. Even with the deadly fires still raging across a large swath of Southern California, the estimated damages have made the fires the region’s worst natural disaster in decades. The issues mount – lack of water, cascading electrical outages, un-insurability, privatization of first responder support, finger pointing between local, state, and federal levels. With all of this in mind, the LA fires demonstrate a new vulnerability for Americans. Residents and business leaders alike must call into question closely held assumptions on normalcy in one of the biggest and most prosperous U.S. cities

With the U.S.-China trade simmering as Trump begins his second term, Apple will be vulnerable to the proposed China tariffs and export restrictions of critical minerals. Since Apple makes majority of its products in China, it must deflect what otherwise would be amount to hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes. Although Apple has shifted production to India with the iPhone 15 (2022), Apple has yet to start fabrication in the U.S. With Trump proposing a 60% tariff on goods imported from China and a 20% levy on things made elsewhere, Apple will have to use every lever to contain costs, sustain demand, secure mineral inputs, and gain policy exemption. So, with so much at-stake, what will Apple do?

The “America First” agenda under President Trump’s second term, particularly its trade and tariff policies, will significantly impact China’s economy, trade dynamics, and geopolitical strategy. As China retaliates, corporate directors must stay informed and proactively safeguard their companies’ interests. Moreover, with the changing global landscape and supply chain strategies, companies should consider the intersection of natural security with ESG, Sustainability, and Climate.

With COP29 now concluded in Baku, Azerbaijan, corporate directors should consider the ramifications for their organizations, especially as they relate to the quickening pace of the global energy transition, worsening portfolio of climate risks, uncertainty on the future of U.S. climate policy, and growing pressure on private financing to bolster climate resilience and adaptation. Although many have called the latest COP a disappointment, the short- and medium-term consequences of the latest climate negotiations should be evaluated thoroughly.