Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2025

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The ESG reporting landscape is set to undergo significant transformation in 2025, driven by new reporting requirements, global harmonisation of standards, and heightened accountability.

Harmonisation efforts, such as the proposed EU Omnibus simplification package aim to streamline compliance across jurisdictions, while a blend of voluntary and mandatory reporting emerges. Accountability will increase with enhanced assurance demands and the integration of digital solutions for reliable ESG data management. Companies proactive in aligning with these changes can enhance their compliance, bolster stakeholder trust, and align with broader sustainability goals.

What to expect in 2025

• New Reporting Standards: The impact of standards, such as the EU’s CSRD and ISSB standards, will be felt globally with new reporting deadlines and local interpretations.
• Focus on Accountability: Limited assurance and complex disclosure requirements will require companies to ensure data accuracy and implement robust management systems and internal controls.
• Harmonisation Efforts: Initiatives like the EU’s proposed Omnibus simplification package aim to align regulations such as the CSRD, CSDDD, and EU Taxonomy to simplify compliance and enhance the comparability of ESG disclosures across organisations and jurisdictions.
• Voluntary to Mandatory Frameworks: An increasing blend of voluntary and mandatory frameworks at the country level, with transitional periods to prepare organisations for compliance with required standards.

Insights

The Evolving Landscape of ESG Reporting Regulation: Expectations for 2025

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With consumers and regulators demanding greater transparency, green claims are under the microscope like never before. Misleading sustainability claims, or “greenwashing,” can severely damage brand credibility and lead to regulatory penalties.

Positioning credible green claims backed by science and third-party verification is crucial. Our tailored solutions help businesses create transparent, substantiated claims, ensuring they meet regulatory requirements and build consumer trust.

What to expect in 2025

• Heightened enforcement of the EU Green Claims Directive and similar policies worldwide.
• Consumer backlash against brands caught overstating sustainability achievements.
• Rising demand for certifications and standards to verify claims.
• Brands must focus on authenticity and transparency, leveraging third-party validation to navigate these challenges effectively.

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The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) is evolving rapidly, driven by the urgency of climate action and recent breakthroughs at COP29 in Baku.

What to expect in 2025

• High-quality carbon credits are becoming a priority, with greater emphasis on projects delivering verified environmental and social co-benefits.
• Nature-based solutions—such as reforestation and wetland restoration—are gaining traction as investors seek to address biodiversity and carbon sequestration simultaneously.
• Carbon credit procurement is increasingly being integrated into corporate net-zero strategies to address residual emissions while aligning with science-based targets.
• The supply-demand gap for high-quality credits is driving investment in scalable nature and technology-based solutions.
• Stronger regulatory frameworks and standards, highlighted at COP29, aim to harmonise practices across voluntary and compliance markets, ensuring accountability and impact.

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It’s customary to set goals in January, but in 2025, this tradition feels less optimistic. This pivotal halfway point in the UN’s ‘Decade of Action’ has companies assessing their sustainability targets—and realising many are off track for 2030.

Systemic challenges, overambitious goals, and political uncertainty, including the potential impact of a Trump administration, are causing businesses to hesitate or rethink. Some are revising goals to reflect practical realities, while others risk stalling progress entirely.

In this article, we explore why targets are being missed, the rise of “greenhushing,” and tips on how to reset goals strategically and transparently.

What to expect in 2025

• Insights into why some companies are falling short of their 2025 sustainability commitments.
• How potential policy rollbacks under a Trump administration could influence ESG strategies globally.
• An exploration of trends like ‘greenwashing’ and ‘greenhushing’, alongside the regulatory risks posed by the EU’s Green Claims Directive. 
• Advice on revising sustainability targets to ensure they are realistic, measurable, and aligned with business capabilities.
• Practical tips for communicating updates on sustainability goals to maintain credibility and momentum.

Insights

A Year of Interim Targets and Dealing with Uncertainty

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As the sustainability landscape continues to evolve, 2025 is set to be a pivotal year for integrating climate action, nature conservation, and social impact into cohesive strategies. This intersection is no longer seen as a series of isolated efforts but as a powerful, interconnected framework that delivers measurable environmental and social benefits. For forward-thinking companies, this integrated approach represents a strategic advantage, offering opportunities to drive meaningful change while positioning themselves as leaders in the sustainability space.

What to expect in 2025

• Nature-positive business models: Companies are embedding regeneration and restoration of nature into their core strategies, ensuring measurable contributions to halting and reversing biodiversity loss map to the resilience of the enterprise and business growth alike.
• Social equity in climate and nature solutions: Climate action initiatives increasingly prioritise social justice, focusing on improving the livelihoods of vulnerable communities and addressing inequality as part of their sustainability efforts.
• Blended finance mechanisms: Partnerships between private, public, and philanthropic sectors are driving investment in projects that deliver both climate resilience and social impact, bridging funding gaps in underserved regions.
• Technology-driven monitoring and reporting: Advancements in technology are enabling companies to measure and report the combined impacts of climate, nature, and social initiatives with greater precision and transparency.
• Policy and regulatory integration: Governments and international organisations are introducing frameworks that incentivise businesses to align climate, nature, and social goals with regulatory compliance.