Sustainability strategies have reached a turning point. For years, companies have launched ESG initiatives, published reports, and set science-based targets. But on the ground, the return on investment (ROI) has fallen short.
If it feels like your sustainability strategy has stalled, you’re not alone. Only 16 percent of G2000 companies are on track to achieve net zero by 2050 and 45 percent are still increasing emissions.
Despite our best intentions, sustainability leaders are discovering that real-world barriers are slowing progress and, in some cases, reversing it. Consumers aren’t shifting their behaviors. Suppliers are pushing back. Green claims are triggering fines. Even talking about sustainability has become a political risk in some regions.
So, what now?
The answer isn’t more compliance; It’s smarter implementation.
To unlock sustainability ROI, companies must move beyond reporting and activate the hidden leaders in their value chain, in their communities, and in their customer base to ensure progress on the ground delivers the outcomes we need more urgently than ever.
As Robert Burns once wrote in a poem about a mouse’s house being destroyed, “The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley.” Or, as Mike Tyson put it, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
That’s what the past five years have felt like for many sustainability leaders; one punch after another and plans being derailed as they face implementation challenges.
Examples:
Now, as we face the reality of the world in 2025, ESG itself has become controversial. In the US, sustainability messaging can now invite political scrutiny and reputational risk. Meanwhile, regulations are evolving unevenly across regions, making compliance even more complex and confusing for stakeholders.
TAKEAWAY: When sustainability requirements are not leading to results, it’s time for a reset. But first, we must understand the realities on the ground where our best intentions are falling short.
For years, companies relied on survey data suggesting that consumers wanted more sustainable products—and would even pay more for them. But behavior change never followed.
Why?
1. Intentions ≠ Action
Surveys often reflect what people believe about themselves, not what they’ll do. Behavioral science calls this the intention–action gap. Social desirability bias leads consumers to overstate their willingness to make sustainable choices. This phenomenon has not been encountered before in surveys of less complex purchasing decisions. Consumers also underestimated the challenges of changing their behaviors.