Here are ten 2026 sustainability predictions from Sustainability Magazine:
- Sustainability will be positioned as a profit center by a growing number of businesses – Duh. It’s about time!
- Claims will be audited more – Like all things, there will always be organizations that try to cheat the system. But it will become harder to make claims without supporting certification and verification.
- More spending on resilience and climate adaptation – The numbers don’t lie and they show a progressively angrier planet. More money is going to be spent on preparing for extreme climate events.
- Data centers will focus more attention on sustainability – As demand for energy from data centers grows, their need for efficiency will force them to embrace sustainability.
- Cost containment and Scope 3 mandates will drive circularity – As companies look for cost savings and mandate compliance, circularity will advance as a tool.
- Transparency (ie, telling the truth) will increase – A willingness to admit to shortcomings and missed goals will translate to more organizations using progressive improvement standards versus numerical scoring standards.
- Acknowledgement of the real environmental cost of AI – The bandwagon has been full of those looking to capitalize on the speed of AI, but few have been willing to admit to the environmental damage it causes. This will begin to balance in 2026 as the true costs of AI start to become clearer.
- Increased supply chain vendor sustainability accountability – Organizations will dive deeper into their supply chains for sustainability transparency, creating opportunity or headache, depending on if the vendor can prove its sustainability commitment.
- Career opportunity – The demand for green skills in the workforce continues to increase.
- Increased green space deployment – More use of nature-based solutions (ie, green infrastructure) will occur in cities and buildings.