In the News
NEW REPORT: What do the next five years hold for sustainability?
17 June 2026
What will a sustainability leader look like in 2030? To borrow from William Gibson, the future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.
Our latest survey reveals that while sustainability maturity remains uneven, change is happening. Leaders increasingly expect sustainability to drive corporate strategy over the next five years.
The organisation’s reputation could depend on it.
The majority expect sustainability to play a greater role in consumer choices, career decisions and stakeholder trust.
But there are headwinds
Sustainability leaders report that pressure is growing to scale back DEI and net zero initiatives. More than 1 in 4 expect the global political context to become less supportive.
Key insights
- 52% of Sustainability Leaders say that sustainability will become a primary driver of corporate strategy in the next five years.
- 3 in 4 agree that sustainability will become more important to corporate reputation. Sustainability is also expected to influence career and purchase choices more strongly.
- More than 2 in 3 say sustainability issues are becoming more divisive, citing increased pressure to scale back DEI and net zero initiatives.
- Tomorrow’s sustainability leaders will need to articulate the business value of sustainability, influence strategically, and lead collaboratively.
- Nearly 9 in 10 agree that sustainability progress will rely as much on enterprise-wide sustainability literacy as on the expertise of specialists.
About the Sustainability Leaders Panel
The Sustainability Leaders Panel is an initiative from Echo Research, Good Business and Mishcon de Reya.
Twice a year, we survey an international, cross-sector group of senior sustainability executives to explore and provide peer-to-peer insights on how they are managing emerging issues and challenges.
Find out more about Echo's integrated research services for sustainability leaders here.
Apply to join the Sustainability Leaders Panel here.
Find out more about the Panel and Echo’s wider sustainability and ESG research: matt.painter@echoresearch.com
