The State of Sustainability (in 2025)

Corporate sustainability is facing challenging headwinds, but is this a temporary setback or a fundamental shift?

To tackle these questions, we recently hosted an exclusive event for our community members with Charles Conn, Board Member at Patagonia.

Let's dive into the key insights:

Cycles of Change

The good news? Challenging times come and go. Overall, the general trajectory is moving in the right direction. The most forward-thinking businesses understand the need to commit to and deliver on decarbonisation targets, energy transition, and supply chain resilience.

After all, there's no business to be done on a dead planet. So here's what you can do as a sustainability professional:

1. Stop Talking About ESG

The bundled-up term 'ESG' merges very different topics that often have limited relation to each other. It positions sustainability as separate from the business, like a nice-to-have that fluctuates with external conditions. This brings forward the false narrative that we're dealing with a trade-off, but when we adopt a multi-generational perspective, there simply is no trade-off.

2. Embed Sustainability Across the Business

Rather than discussing sustainability as a siloed function mandating other departments to reduce impacts on society and the planet, we should position it as core to long-term business viability. Sustainability isn't just a function, it's a capability that needs embedding across all teams.

3. Evolve Strategically in Your Career

Over recent months, many Chief Sustainability Officer roles have been recalibrated. They're either being positioned under different C-suite functions or absorbed into other teams. View this not as the dismantling of sustainability, but as its integration throughout the organisation.

Consider which strategic progression aligns with your expertise (e.g., Chief Supply Chain Officer, Head of Procurement, Innovation Director) and bring your sustainability vision into that role. Position sustainability not as a separate agenda, but as a powerful lever to achieve the function's KPIs and drive measurable business value.

4. Position Yourself Where Decisions Happen

The most effective way to intertwine sustainability with business operations is to be where decisions are made. “What ingredients or materials are we using?”, “How are we manufacturing our products?”, “How are we measuring our carbon and water footprints?”, “How do we transport our products efficiently?”. By positioning yourself at these critical points, you ensure sustainability becomes part of the business's DNA.]

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