Per this article, these are the sustainability trends you should watch, and respond to, in 2025

 

  • Course-correcting sustainability strategies – Just saying you are sustainable does not cut it. Sustainability MUST be a tool to maximize value.  If so, it justifies its existence financially and extends its life for the betterment of the environment.

 

  • Scaling sustainable programs – We will see a lessening of many small projects and an increase in larger, company-wide programs that encompass the entire organization.

 

  • A paradigm shift in corporate reporting – The days of making bold environmental / climate / carbon / sustainable promises, with no supporting data, are over. New laws will expose unsupported claims to financial, market and legal risks.  Starting in 2024 and expanding in 2025, compliance will force you to support your answers with data that can be verified.

 

  • Sustainability continues to grow – While politics cause governmental pushback in some countries against ESG, sustainability continues to expand globally as many companies consider sustainability essential to their survival. Some companies are considering rebranding due to being exposed for greenwashing and others are choosing to adhere to global standards.

 

  • Impact investing – Family offices are spearheading a transformative shift from wealth preservation to impact investing in order to achieve long-term global benefit.

 

  • What else is being impacted? – We’ve always known there is a connection between environmental risks and social risks, such as food and water scarcity, mass migration and geopolitical impact. But until recently, we did not have the tools to capture the complexity of how these risks interrelate.  Now that we have the tools, we will be able to better understand, predict, prepare and address the broader risks that we are facing.

 

  • The merging of climate change and biodiversity agendas – Climate change cannot be solved without addressing biodiversity. The 2025 COP30 will be held in Brazil, home to 60% of the dwindling Amazon rain forest.  As we strive for net zero, we need to add nature-positive targets.

 

  • Green talent demand to outpace supply – There has never been a better time to pursue a career in sustainability. Supply will continue to lag demand, with a gap of 19% by 2030.  For those of you starting college, there are many other career choices that can offer the combination of demand, pay and fulfillment.

 

  • Talent development and sustainability converge – Companies recognize the need to align employee growth with sustainability goals. That will increase in 2025 as talent development and sustainability converge in order to help companies address global challenges.

 

  • Impact secondaries – A new breed of ‘impact secondaries’ that invest in Series A and B social enterprises is bringing liquidity to Impact Investing.  This new group is growing 85% YoY and reducing hold periods by 36%.  For impact founders, this gives them a middle path between maintaining their mission and providing returns for early investors.

 

  • Bringing the being into business – The evolution to collaborative, purpose-driven, resilient, organizations that foster the IDG approach (being, thinking, relating, collaborating, and acting) will continue; and will integrate the UN SDGs.

 

  • Corporations, social enterprises, and communities partner for sustainability – Complex challenges demand innovative approaches that combine all stakeholders working together toward a shared goal. The partnering of disparate groups happens when there is an emergency (ie, after a natural disaster); and that is what we are facing.

 

  • The political dimension of social entrepreneurship – The world has entered an era of persistent, overlapping crises. Organizations that address social problems are being forced to become involved in politics to drive policy.

 

  • Investment in climate change adaptation – As climate impacts intensify, companies are committing resources to predict financial risks associated with climate-related disasters, then adjusting operations accordingly.

 

  • Non-executive leadership in an uncertain world – Non-executive board directors that have sustainability experience will play a bigger role in decision-making.

 

  • Will AI be friend or foe? – In 2025 a key question will be: Will technology be a friend or foe in advancing our global sustainability agenda? We know AI brings the ability to automate complex reporting, improve data quality and produce insights.  But it also requires massive energy and water demands at a time when we are losing the global warming battle.  It also is expected to displace many vulnerable jobs, placing more of the world’s population into the ‘have not’s’ camp.  AI reminds us of a quote from Dr. Malcolm in Jurassic Park – “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

 

Buckle up!