As CEOs in the US prepare for a recession that a majority believe will not be mild and short, the newly-released 2022 KPMG CEO Outlook found that in an uncertain economic environment, they are adjusting their business strategies around ESG.

They are committed to investing in transformational opportunities that will position their organizations for future growth, it found. But in the case of ESG goals, while they said they are "important," 59% said they plan to pause or reconsider their organization's ESG efforts in the next six months as they adjust their strategy to prepare for a recession.

This pause comes as ESG undergoes more scrutiny from various stakeholders for such reasons as frustration with the lack of standards, overhyped claims and political pushback from certain states. Still, though, the overarching business case for ESG remains positive; the same KPMG study also found that 70% of the global CEOs said their company's ESG programs improved their financial performance — up from 37% last year. Also, these CEOs identified access to capital as the top risk pertaining to failing to meet stakeholder expectations around ESG.