Is the end of woke capitalism over? Corporate boards are once again reprioritising profit over culture, reputation, social and climate concerns.

The survey, conducted by law firm King & Wood Malleson and reported in the Australian Financial Review, found that nearly 70% of directors now consider profitability as their top priority. This represents a notable increase from just 47% in the previous year when profitability ranked fourth behind concerns about skilled labor, skills shortages, and cyber risks.

The return to a profit-centric approach is also evident in directors’ views on supporting social issues such as “the Voice,” a term often used in the context of Indigenous representation and rights in Australia. According to the survey, 29% of directors believe that addressing these social issues is not the role of businesses, while 44% would consider it only if it directly relates to their business operations.

Only 20% of directors expressed support for businesses backing “the Voice,” despite a campaign featuring prominent directors endorsing a “Yes” vote in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.

Meredith Paynter, a partner at King & Wood Mallesons and the lead author of the survey, noted that there has been pushback against corporations taking strong stances on socioeconomic issues, particularly in the United States, where such actions have been criticised as “woke capitalism.”

The survey also revealed that over 12% of directors admitted to reevaluating or retracting their public commitments or disclosures related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. This comes in response to increased regulatory scrutiny on greenwashing and the growing threat of climate-related litigation.

Emma Newnham, a representative of King & Wood Mallesons, emphasised the real risk of greenwashing and stated that some organisations are reevaluating or scaling back their public ESG commitments in response to these concerns.

The focus on profitability extends to medium-term goals as well. The survey found that 43% of directors prioritise finding new business models, an increase from the 35% who expressed this sentiment in the previous year.