- Companies plan to invest in sustainability, but there are challenges
- Consumers are more and more skeptical about greenwashing
- The leaders turn to AI for the answers
Four out of five organizations (82%) plan to increase investments in environmental sustainability over the next 12 to 18 months, with three out of four leaders such as the nurse code against regulation (72%), stakeholders’ trust (69%) and innovation (67%).
However, budgetary constraints (81%), poor data / measurement systems (81%), operational silos (79%) and, of course, the geopolitical tensions in progress (65%) all prevent significant progress, according to New Capgemini Research.
Two -thirds (67%) also feel growing demand to show progress via credible and science actions.
How can companies be more sustainable?
With a lot of obstacles on the way, business leaders are now turning to AI tools to progress. Almost two (64%) use AI to support sustainability in reports, energy efficiency and climate modeling, but even AI may not contain all the answers.
For example, the conviction that the benefits of AI prevail over costs that actually increased from 67% in 2024 to 57% in 2025.
In the United Kingdom in particular, 95% of companies have not changed net times despite global pressures, and more than half (54%) say that they are sub-prepare for climate impacts.
“With the climatic risks increasingly high on the agenda of the company, business leaders must adopt a pragmatic and operational approach and urgently implement funded transition and adaptation measures,” said Cyril Garcia, responsible for global sustainability and business responsibility, Capgemini.
The need to do more is obvious, however. Capgemini experienced an increase in consumer skepticism, with 62% of brands believing that greenwashing, compared to 52% in 2024 and 33% in 2023.
Only 24% of consumers find affordable sustainable products and only 16% believe they have sufficient information on sustainability.
Interestingly, almost half (49%) report a positive return on durability initiatives, often with a faster return on investment than other investments, so that the opportunities that have been important could be significant.
