Disable your ad blocker to enjoy the full interactive features of this document.
Resurgent Business Models
Resurgent Business Models
One of the overarching successes of the last decade has been the emergence of sustainability as a “nice to have” into something that is embedded in and contributing to wider business strategies. Against new external pressures, sustainability teams have to think long-term while articulating the urgency of action.
Despite the current rhetoric on net-zero at a political level, the momentum behind sustainability continues to drive forward. The movement might not be as rapid as the 2018-2020 period, where businesses rushed to get net-zero commitments out the door, but targets have always been an easy thing to set, and a much harder thing to reach.
Amid a turbulent geopolitical landscape and increasing fears over business reputation and greenwashing, many sustainability teams have found themselves forced to refocus on short-term pressures, with long-term climate ambitions being deprioritised.
However, any indication that businesses are reneging on their commitments is wide of the mark. While some US banks (Wells Fargo) have dropped their net-zero targets, others have had to realign, moving their targets forward or backward as they now have a better understanding of the requirements and timeframes to reach them.
The Capgemini Research Institute, which surveyed 2,500 business leaders across the world, found that many are not sidelining sustainability due to the pressure to think short-term. Instead, they are framing sustainability as a means of weathering persistent challenges such as supply chain disruptions and high energy and commodity prices.
That survey found that more than six in ten (62%) businesses are planning to increase their sustainability budgets this year, by an average of 10.5%.
edie’s resurgence survey found that boards are increasingly engaged with the sustainability efforts of their company. Additionally, key departments such as procurement, marketing and finance are all becoming more involved with the delivery of sustainability initiatives.
According to respondents, the chief executive is the highest engaged function when it comes to sustainability, with 35% of CEOs “somewhat engaged” and 42% “strongly engaged”. This is followed by the board, procurement and supply chain functions and the marketing team.
Finance and legal remain the most disengaged functions, but only 5% of respondents claim their finance team is “not at all engaged” with sustainability.
Q. To what extend are the following departments engaged with your sustainability efforts?
“Treat sustainability as a systems role, not an environmental one. Your greatest impact will come not from knowing every technical detail, but from understanding how decisions are shaped by power, incentives, culture, and constraints. Learn to navigate these dynamics with humility and curiosity.
“Sustainability work demands persistence, because you will face systems inertia, competing pressures, and imperfect information. Celebrate small wins, build coalitions, and keep moving the organisation one step forward at a time.”
Mary Aladegbola Senior Net Zero Technical Energy Lead NHS
More businesses are creating CEO oversight of sustainability than before. edie’s 2025 Business Tracker surveys found that, on average, around 34% of sustainability professionals/departments report into the chief executive. In the latest report, and the first of 2026, that percentage has reached 38%.
As more parts of the business become engaged with sustainability, likely driven by external trends such as compliance with reporting requirements, an opportunity now exists to explain, incentivise and onboard other areas of the business.
The top-down approach from organisations can also help foster a new culture for businesses, and while many CEOs will be looking at short-term pressures, the role of the sustainability professional is to translate risk (whether short or long-term) into business opportunities.
External challenges
Sustainability as a movement continues to be compounded and disrupted by external factors.
Two overarching challenges continue to hamper appetite and approaches to sustainability, and both fall into the realm of finance.
We asked 200+ sustainability professionals what the biggest challenges were when it came to shaping and strengthening their sustainability strategies. Lack of funding and investment was the most common answer, cited by 31% of sustainability professionals, followed closely by short-term profitability mindset (23%).
The short-term mindset has led some notable businesses to weaken their sustainability targets in recent months, but this tends to be confined to US organisations in sectors such as energy and finance.
Still, the rhetoric around net-zero in the UK (considered a cost barrier by some politicians) and the fact that some businesses have gone quiet about communicating climate action for fear of greenwashing have helped paint a picture that sustainability has fallen off the agenda.
While the underlying data from sources such as CDP show that investment and disclosure on climate are increasing, we asked our audience whether they thought sustainability was slipping from integral to optional.
More than half of respondents do not believe that their climate targets will be weakened. Still, almost two-thirds of sustainability professionals are worried that sustainability is slipping back into “nice to have” efforts.
Q. Given that some organisations have weakened their climate targets in recent months, how do the following statements apply?
Almost half of businesses believe that action and transparency from businesses on sustainability are not at the levels they should be.
The message is clear; be clearer with data and claims, and use those to fuel dialogue on sustainability both internally and externally.
“Ground yourself in both the technical rigour of sustainability topics and business economics, because in times of volatility, credibility is your currency. When budgets tighten during economic downturns, when geopolitical shocks reshape supply chains overnight, when climate disasters force immediate operational pivots—the leaders who survive and thrive are those who can speak both of these languages fluently.
“The technical expertise gives you legitimacy and precision; the commercial acumen gives you influence and durability. In an era where everything feels uncertain, make yourself certain—someone who delivers both environmental progress and business results.”
Khadija Ali, Group Director, Sustainability & Responsible Business, Lloyds Banking Group
© 2025 edie