Sustainability Leaders 2025 Report
Uncover Key Trends Shaping Sustainability Leadership and Action
What’s shaping sustainability in 2025? Our global survey of experts reveals climate change remains the top priority – while other critical issues like biodiversity and water scarcity are losing momentum.
Key report insights include:
- Climate Change Remains the Top Sustainability Challenge –while ninety-four percent of experts continue to rank climate change as the most critical sustainability challenge, there is a notable decline in perceived urgency across issues such as food security, access to quality education, air pollution, access to energy, supply chain labor conditions, and diversity and discrimination
- Legislation Continues to Be Seen as the Most Impactful Development Advancing Sustainability, While Disclosure Standards Lose Prominence – new sustainability legislation remains the most significant positive force cited by experts. While sustainability disclosure standards were highly valued in previous years, their perceived importance has diminished. Experts also highlight progress in renewable energy, low-carbon initiatives, and nature-based solutions as critical to advancing the sustainability agenda.
- Regional Priorities Shape Diverse Perspectives on Sustainability Action and Development – distinct regional priorities are shaping sustainability strategies globally: Respondents from Latin America / Caribbean and Africa / Middle East emphasize regional and national actions, Europe recognizes legislative frameworks, Asia-Pacific advances climate and nature-based solutions, and North America focuses on renewable energy and decarbonization, collectively shaping a diverse yet interconnected global agenda.
- WWF Retains Top NGO Leadership Position – WWF remains the most recognized NGO for sustainability leadership, followed by Greenpeace, The Nature Conservancy, and World Resources Institute. Experts increasingly mention NGOs focused on biodiversity and climate change as critical players in advancing global sustainability goals.
- Patagonia Continues to Lead Corporate Sustainability Rankings – Patagonia continues to lead in terms of recognition as a corporate sustainability leader in integrating sustainability into business strategy, with IKEA, Unilever, and Natura &Co also remaining in the top tier. Additionally, experts recognize companies such as Schneider Electric, Microsoft, Interface, and Ørsted.
The GlobeScan / ERM Sustainability Institute Leaders Survey is an annual study that highlights the most urgent priorities in the current global sustainable development agenda.
The 2025 survey examines private sector and civil society sustainability leadership in addition to monitoring priority issues over time and tracking notable shifts in their perceived importance. This year’s survey was conducted between August and October 2025 and reflects input from almost 400 sustainability experts across nearly 60 countries.
