Sustainability remains a top business priority for leaders in the C-suite, but stakeholder pressure for corporate action has waned after several years of progress, according to a new report from Deloitte.
Pressure has fallen in recent years, according to respondents of a global Deloitte survey. “Executives indicate that most stakeholders continue to push for increased sustainability efforts,” the report said, “but there remains a minority that are pressing to reduce action.”
Fewer respondents this year said their organisations are implementing technology solutions (46% in 2025 vs. 50% in 2024), using more sustainable materials (45% vs. 51%), increasing energy efficiency (45% vs. 49%), and developing new sustainable products and services (44% vs. 48%), among other initiatives.
Leaders noted that reduced incentive across those areas followed decreased stakeholder momentum to accelerate sustainability efforts. Across nearly every major stakeholder group — including shareholders, boards, governments, civil society, customers, and employees — fewer respondents today said they are feeling pressure to act on sustainability than in 2022, according to the survey.
Despite setbacks, 83% of respondents reported increasing their sustainability investments in the last year. Of those, 69% said their investments increased somewhat (by between 6% and 19%), with an additional 14% saying they increased significantly (by 20% or more) — nearly identical to last year’s survey.
In addition, 45% of leaders identify climate change/sustainability as a top-three challenge for their companies in the coming year, on par with technology adoption and AI (44%) and ahead of economic outlook (38%) and trade-related challenges (37%).
While 1 in 8 respondents tie decreased action to the effects of geopolitical uncertainty or cost of capital/interest rate changes, most affirm that technological, regulatory, and economic disruptions have not eroded sustainability investments this year, the report said.
Deloitte’s findings reflect the views of more than 2,000 C-suite executives.
Most respondents see investing in technology as a complement, not a competitor, to sustainability investments. Seventy per cent said the need for AI and other technology investments had caused them to increase their sustainability actions. Additionally, 46% of executives are already using advancements in technology to accelerate sustainability goals, the report said, and another 43% plan do so within two years.
It’s unclear whether many companies are taking a pause to re-evaluate their sustainability strategy or if the data is indicative of a global slowdown. Ultimately, leaders should reassess their strategies, investments, and initiatives to position their companies to “drive system-level change and meaningful progress” in the future, the report said.
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.
