For all the fervor that once animated climate discourse, fatigue has begun to creep in. Companies that made sustainability a central pillar now face funding slowdowns and political reversals, rendering 2025 a precarious juncture in the green transition.
"The external environment has shifted," says Jim Andrew, CSO of PepsiCo. "In 2020–2021, there was momentum: talk of systemic change, financing, infrastructure upgrades, electrification, recycling, policy alignment, and cross-sector collaboration. Much of that has since become a headwind."
Those headwinds are palpable across industries. Ishan Palit, CEO of testing and certification company TÜV SÜD, notes that while consumer pressure has played a role in steering progress, it "isn't yet strong enough to fill the gap left by retreating government subsidies."
With five years to meet 2030 deadlines - the Paris Agreement, UN Sustainable Development Goals, and corporate net-zero pledges - the moral case alone won't be sufficient to sustain hard-won momentum. Cyril Garcia, Global Sustainability Services & Corporate Responsibility Head of Capgemini,observes: "Even when companies understand the urgency and have the right solutions, many hesitate. They worry about how the market will perceive the cost and whether now is the right time." Yet, he stresses: "long-term resilience is precisely what sustainability provides."
Today, that resilience is measured in hard economic terms. Energy sovereignty is becoming synonymous with national security. Sweeping rules on packaging and recycling are reconfiguring supply chains for consumer goods. And in transportation, one of the highest-emitting sectors, reforms are unfolding into inevitability. These three arenas form the focus of this report.
Market volatility and shifting policies cloud the horizon but also reveal players who grasp sustainability as a competitive imperative. At the fault line, the next decade's winners will be those with enough conviction to act before missed targets exact a hefty cost - in both capital and carbon.
Political reversals—like the U.S. exiting the Paris Agreement—can create uncertainty and revive fossil fuel narratives. But they don’t change the data. The trend is clear: 92% of new power capacity last year was renewable. I was in China recently, and their progress is remarkable. Even Ukraine has reframed its energy narrative around security. The centralized nature of fossil fuels no longer guarantees energy security.
Francesco La Camera, Director General of International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
We shouldn’t be shy about it—we are part of the problem, but also part of the solution as we are investing heavily in the transition to a green future. The consensus among experts is that, unfortunately, we will miss the 1.5-degree Paris target. Decarbonization is accelerating, but it’s still too slow.
Håkan Agnevall, CEO, Wärtsilä
Strong government support can be a real catalyst… But we won’t wait for subsidies. Political sentiment doesn't alter the physics of the atmosphere. This isn’t a political issue—it’s a physical reality that the earth will warm up to a degree that it becomes uninhabitable in many regions. The cost of inaction is far greater than the one of decarbonization.
Katharina Tomoff, Senior Vice President of Global ESG, DHL Group
Political cycles also affect long-term rail planning. Sustainable mobility is high on the political agenda—especially in Europe, with initiatives like FIT55—but it requires consistent, long-term funding. That’s often hard to sustain in changing political environments… Everyone supports rail in principle, but not all are willing to make the necessary investments.
Henri Poupart-Lafarge, CEO, AlstomClick here to download the full report
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