Despite ESG backlash dominating headlines over the last year, new research by Bain Company finds that CEOs, consumers and B2B buyers remain committed to sustainability because of the value it delivers.
Bains third edition of The Visionary CEOs Guide to Sustainability 2025 released today shows that the decline in sustainability as a priority between 2023 and 2024 is bottoming out. While CEOs speak less about sustainability today, they continue to act. Analyzing over 35,000 statements made by 150 leading companies CEOs in 2018, 2022, and 2024, Bains AI-powered Sustainability Pulse tool identified a clear evolution in rhetoric: CEOs are moving away from viewing sustainability through a compliance and moral lens toward aligning sustainability with business value.
Analysis based on Bains proprietary decarbonization lever library finds that 25 of global carbon dioxide emissions can be abated profitably today, through ROI-positive levers such as those that improve energy efficiency, build circular design or support supply chain localization. The report recommends CEOs scale and accelerate these levers now, making them part of their business-as-usual decision making. An additional 32 of emissions reduction levers could become profitable in the medium term, the report finds. Their progress will be shaped by changes in policy, technology, and customer behavior.