The Key Sustainability Challenges that will Shape 2026
2025 was an incredibly mixed year for sustainability, while the sector faced continued headwinds from the regulatory roll backs like the CSRD omnibus to growing political animosity from the USA towards all things net zero; we also saw multiple, new renewable energy records, over $2trillion of investment into green energy and biodiversity’s growing focus within companies.
Looking at 2026, firstly we believe the demand for sustainability to deliver commercial benefits to significantly increase this year. The best sustainability leaders understand how to align the sustainability and commercial strategies to ensure effectiveness but also maximise profits. We are already witnessing companies seeking to hire candidates that can demonstrate having done so before.
Experience overseeing transformation, building resilience and embedding a sustainability culture that generates commercial benefits is predicted to be a key differentiator for sustainability recruitment. While compliance, net zero planning and ESG reporting are expected to become more operational and mid management sustainability duties.
Aside from sustainability recruitment, wider sector challenges we expect to see in 2026 include:
Energy Transition & Infrastructure Bottlenecks
Clean energy deployment isn’t progressing evenly. While renewable capacity grows, 2026 brings new headwinds:
Renewable additions are slowing, with continued connection issues to often aging infrastructure, while fossil fuel demand rebounds faster than expected.
Power grids and storage infrastructure are struggling to keep pace with rising energy demand — especially from data centres and AI networks.
This means the energy transition’s technical and economic bottlenecks are now front-and-centre sustainability issues.
Climate Change planning moving from Mitigation to Adaptation
Climate action has historically focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2026, however, adaptation and resilience are expected to rise to the top of the agenda:
Governments and companies are increasingly aware that global warming is likely to exceed the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 °C target — meaning adaptation strategies must run alongside mitigation efforts.
Extreme weather events are costing economies hundreds of billions, highlighting the financial case for resilience planning.
Traditional climate strategies focused on emissions reduction now need to blend with preparing for unavoidable impacts — from infrastructure stress to social and economic disruption.
Regulatory Complexity & Reporting Pressures
2026 will see a persistently fragmented and evolving regulatory landscape:
Global sustainability and climate disclosure rules remain inconsistent and difficult to navigate, creating uncertainty for multinational companies.
Debates over standardisation and enforcement reflect deeper tensions between ambition and practicality in climate regulation.
This “regulatory jungle” makes compliance more complex, raising costs and forcing organisations to balance sustainability reporting rigour with operational flexibility.
ESG Integrity: Greenwashing & Greenhushing
As ESG frameworks mature, the two communication pitfalls for ESG Reporting for forecast to escalate:
Greenwashing — misleading or exaggerated sustainability claims — is now under scrutiny as regulators and consumers demand authenticity, with several big names being highlights in 2025.
Greenhushing — under communication of genuine progress due to legal or reputational fears — this came to the fore in 2025 and we expect it to rise.
Organisations must strike a balance: verifiable transparency backed by evidence, not marketing spin.
Economic Headwinds & Social Inequality
Sustainability challenges, though frequently thought of as purely environmental, are also substantially economic and social:
With global economic growth forecast to be mostly flat in 2026, it will bring fiscal constraints that hinder public and private investment in sustainability.
Widening income inequality across countries has become a systemic risk, weakening social cohesion and increasing pressure on governments and businesses to advance inclusive sustainability models.
Policies and investments that overlook social dimensions of sustainability risk failing their own goals.
Technology: AI & Digital Tools
New technologies are both problems and solutions:
Evolving AI technology is helping monitor environmental harm, improve climate models, and optimise energy use — but it also consumes substantial power and resources.
Governance and ethical use of AI are now essential elements of sustainability strategies, not add-ons.
The sustainability of tech itself — including data centres and digital infrastructure — has become a core issue, not an afterthought.
Nature & Biodiversity Risk Recognition
Environmental risks like habitat loss, biodiversity decline, and ecosystem degradation are finally being treated as material financial risks, not abstract environmental concerns:
Nature-related risk now affects commodity supply chains, asset valuation and corporate risk disclosures.
Integrating nature into sustainability strategies requires new tools, finance mechanisms, and cross-sector collaboration.
2026 marks a maturation phase for sustainability, where intent must translate into implementation and measurable impact. Sustainability leaders who can support their companies embed resilience and enhance commercial benefits will be those that have the best impact against the array of pressures sustainability is currently facing.
As a pure specialist in Sustainability, ESG and Climate Technology recruitment, Verdant Search has supported businesses across all sectors bring their sustainability strategies to life. We cover all sustainability hiring, including ESG recruitment, interim sustainability and permanent hiring across the UK.
For more information visit the Verdant Search at www.verdantsearch.com or contact me directly at serrol@verdantsearch.com.