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Executive summary
Executive summary
More than three-quarters of the world is covered by net-zero targets, and more than 7,000 businesses globally have science-based targets in place. It should be a moment where the skills of the sustainability professional have never been more valuable, and yet the movement is constantly being questioned.
Global sustainable investment funds suffered a historic blow in the first quarter of 2025, with net outflows reaching $8.6bn, primarily driven by US President Donald Trump’s anti-environmental agenda. Wall Street firms like Wells Fargo have left climate coalitions in droves.
The drumbeat of corporate net-zero announcements that occurred in the build-up to COP26 in 2021 was necessary in a world on track for 3.1C of warming by 2100. It was also loud and vocal, with businesses keen to talk about their targets and ambitions.
As the window to meet net-zero targets shrinks, the ability to shout about them recedes as well. Many businesses are now fumbling about with the complexity of net-zero and ESG, and the language is now being politicised. More companies are working on integrating sustainability, upskilling core staff, and mapping a transition to net-zero. It’s easy to talk about wanting to run a marathon, but people are going to be far less interested in hearing you talk about your long runs and stretching routine - and sustainability professionals are certainly being stretched.
Net outflow of sustainable investment funds in 2025.
So sweeping, ambitious targets that lack clarity now need just that, and in the midst of an economic downturn and the distracting political environment, sustainability professionals can be forgiven for thinking that the moment is backsliding. This may be the case for some, but our survey shows that implementation is a far harder thing to talk about than target setting, and so, the sustainability movement churns on, with the interest from outside the traditional sphere of green groups and practitioners low, but not gone.
While this Sustainable Business Tracker will indeed point out the issues of political instability and short-term corporate mindsets, it will also showcase where businesses are focusing their action and whether success can be delivered through passionate teams.
For this survey, we focused on the role of the sustainability professional to see how well resourced they are, whether they are worried about perceptions of an ESG winter or recession, and how they view themselves within their organisation.
Here are some of the key findings:
Lack of finance remains the biggest barrier to sustainability implementation
According to the Climate Policy Initiative global climate finance flows must reach $7.5trn annually through 2030, increasing to $8.8trn per year from 2031 to 2050 to align with the 1.5C pathway. COP30 delivered on some fronts, but the financial gap continues to widen.
The same is being felt at a corporate level; rising energy costs and supply chain disruptions have seen many businesses dip back into a short-term profitability mindset, cutting the purse strings of sustainability initiatives in order to improve the bottom line.
Our latest Sustainable Business Tracker survey found that one in three businesses (32%) see a “lack of funding/investment” as the biggest challenge to their sustainability ambitions right now. This is closely followed by a “short-term profitability mindset”, cited by 24%. With more than 50% of businesses struggling in regard to financial support for sustainability, the role of the sustainability practitioner is reverting back into someone who builds a business case for sustainability, rather than implements it.
Amount of annual global investment needed by 2030 to maintain a 1.5C pathway.
Sustainability teams are not equipped to deliver on corporate climate strategies
One of the historic challenges facing the sustainability department has been getting the topic out of a silo and embedded across the business. This can, and is, being done via KPIs, board-level involvement, and green champions being found in other departments. While our survey finds that more areas of the business are engaged with sustainability (more on that in the next section), the internal team is still under-resourced.
Our survey found that 32% of respondents are the representation when it comes to sustainability, meaning they are a team of just one person. Almost four in 10 businesses have a sustainability team of between 1-4 people. So while 72% of businesses have a sustainability function of up to four people, just 14% have 10+ members on their internal sustainability department.
Worryingly, when asked if they believe their “sustainability team is adequately resourced to deliver on its core remit?” 50% answered “no,” and a further 13% were unsure.
Saying that, almost half (48%) of respondents claim that their work has had a “tangible impact” on their organisation, with a further 40% stating there is a “suggestion” that their work is making a difference. In short, sustainability professionals remain change makers; the question is how much change they can continue to deliver on constrained resources.
Proportion of respondents who felt their sustainability teams were not adequately resourced or they were unsure
Sustainability professionals view themselves as influencers, when they should be executing change
We’ve covered the evolving role of a sustainability professional on edie for decades, from being an add-on in an existing role to getting a seat in the boardroom. Some sustainability professionals may still feel like activists, sounding the drum for the planet, while others will feel like accountants – combing through the numbers to improve data and disclosure.
We asked sustainability professionals to rank what role best describes themselves, with options ranging from:
- Influencer: Informing stakeholders of key ESG developments and trying to gain buy-in
- Executive: Implementing and delivering an ESG strategy
- Orchestrater: Embedding ESG across the business to deliver wider change
- Accountant: Reporting and disclosing performance data and metrics
- Representative: Representing the company at events, building networks and partnerships
- Activist: Disrupting current business approaches to ensure a focus on the planet
We also asked them what role they should be doing. The answers, explored in the final section of this report, highlight the ambition gap between what sustainability professionals should be doing and what they are doing.
Survey respondents were also asked to provide reasons that motivate them in their role. We have included a few anonymised quotes throughout this report to highlight the enduring optimism in the profession.
“I know that all environmental gains, even incremental ones, I can achieve are worth something.”
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