Key Takeaways
- Incentives dominate: Experts say subsidies followed by carbon pricing are the most powerful tools for driving sustainability.
- Systemic strategies matter: Urban planning and trade policies with sustainability standards are also seen as high-impact.
- Regulation needs support: Compliance tools like CSRD are valued but seen as less effective without strong financial incentives.
A global survey of 844 sustainability experts across 72 countries, conducted by GlobeScan in collaboration with ERM and Volans, reveals that financial incentives and market mechanisms are widely seen as the most powerful tools for governments to advance sustainability in the next five years.
Subsidies promoting sustainable behaviors tops the list, with 72 percent of experts rating them as high-impact. This is followed by carbon pricing mechanisms (65%), urban sustainability initiatives (63%), and international trade policies with sustainability standards (63%). While regulatory and compliance-focused tools like mandatory due diligence (57%) and corporate reporting frameworks such as the EU CSRD (40%) are also seen as part of the solution, they are viewed as less effective without complementary financial drivers.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The message to policymakers is clear: align economic incentives with environmental goals to achieve faster, broader progress. Regulatory frameworks still matter, but their impact is limited unless paired with scalable financial levers that change behavior and business models at pace. As we approach 2030, the most effective strategy will likely be a hybrid approach that combines smart regulation with strong market-based incentives. This signals an important shift in how governments should structure sustainability policy to drive measurable impact.
This analysis is based on a survey of 844 sustainability practitioners across 72 countries globally. To learn more about how sustainability experts believe we can best navigate this crucial inflection point in the evolution of the global sustainability agenda, explore our recent report: Sustainability at a Crossroads.
Survey Question: Please rate the extent to which each of the following could potentially lead to significant positive sustainability outcomes over the next five years. Please use a 5-point scale where 1 is the potential to have “no positive impact at all,” 3 is “moderate positive impact,” and 5 is “very significant positive impact.”
