Sustainability in 2025: Renewed commercial opportunity

Key developments entering 2025 

In the wake of COP29, sustainability expectations, ambitions and commitments across the industry have been tempered by a backdrop of geopolitical tensions and the need for economic recovery. 

In parallel, we’re seeing a proliferation of sustainability regulation across Europe, the United States and globally. The shift from voluntary to mandatory is becoming more pronounced, with organisations now needing to integrate ESG requirements into their strategy and operations to improve data collection, reporting and drive performance. 

With deadlines for compliance fast approaching, there’s an increasing burden on TMT companies and their sustainability functions to invest time and resources in full value-chain reporting (based on double materiality principles). To put this into perspective, there are now more than 180 minimum disclosure obligations, up to a maximum 1,000 for qualifying organisations.  

The focus for 2025 and beyond 

Beyond compliance to the commercial advantage  

Regulatory and compliance activity is currently table-stakes and clearly a high priority for companies for 2025. But, on its own, this does not necessarily drive innovation or create new enterprise value.  

We’re helping our TMT clients to redefine their strategies and ambitions across an end-to-end sustainability journey. Through this experience, it’s increasingly clear that companies can drive significant enterprise value by using sustainability insight to enable more seamless collaboration throughout the value chain.  

Proven benefits of this approach include reduced supplier costs, increased resilience and accelerated Scope 3 emissions reduction, which in itself is a significant cost and decarbonisation opportunity (Scope 3 emissions typically account for more than 70% of a business’s carbon footprint).   

Over time, by evolving from a compliance mindset to a focus on proactive supplier engagement and leading cross-industry platforms, organisations can realise significant benefits. ESG may not be consuming as many column inches as it once was, but the opportunity remains under the headlines  - on cost, carbon and commercial opportunity.  

Retaining the right focus on resources, data and skills to go beyond compliance, activating new opportunities and enterprise-wide change will be a differentiating for leading companies in the next few years.

Discover more perspectives on key trends shaping TMT in 2025