Credit: RY
Sustainability leaders are turning their attention to the actions which create – and communicate – genuine impact, writes Radley Yeldar's Rebecca Ward
Early in May, sustainability leaders from across the world met in Montreux – a beautiful lakeside town an hour's train journey from Geneva in Switzerland – for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's (WBCSD) annual meeting. The agenda was full and varied. Leaders across policy, finance, and business provided thought provoking perspectives, alongside plentiful opportunity for meaningful discussion amongst delegates.
Those perspectives and discussions coalesced around the central themes that sustainability professionals are grappling with every day. Individually, these themes paint a complex and multifaceted backdrop. Together, they provide a unifying take-away:
"We are no longer in an era of change, rather, a change of era."
CSRD becomes business-as-usual
Re-wind 18 months, and anyone working in sustainability had four letters front of mind: CSRD. Today, those letters have retreated, leaving headspace for broader communication and meaningful action. Despite the uncertainty around European legislation, the majority of affected businesses have adopted a ‘keep calm and carry on' mindset. Already having spent material time and resource in preparation, CSRD-ready reporting processes are commonplace. Sustainability professionals are taking a deep breath and beginning to consider what comes next.
Responsive reporting drives value
"Deriving value from sustainability reporting relies on a board culture which acts upon identified risks – including sustainability risks."
Representatives of the investor community made it clear that reporting on your material risks and opportunities is not enough. Businesses must showcase how they are responding to identified risks and opportunities and the efficacy of that response. Investors are asking: how was the strategic approach shaped by the findings of the reporting process? How are metrics being used to drive business decisions?
Answering these questions proves the board are on board and that sustainability is maturing within the business – becoming a strategic tool to protect and generate business value.
Sustainability is (de)risky business
Once again reliving the last 18 months, we've survived the ESG backlash (so far). No doubt many businesses have retreated into a state of greenhushing. But sustainability leaders are resourceful folk. In the wake of the backlash, sustainability has been re-framed into an argument for resilience and investibility.
Although not explicitly name-checked, the concept of dynamic materiality is crucial in this shift of mindset:
"Today's negative externalities are tomorrow's risks, and the day after tomorrow's portfolio losses."
If today's investors and internal decision makers are indeed interested in resilience and investibility, dynamic materiality helps organisations understand where actions can be taken to mitigate risks and realise opportunities by tracking back from financial materiality to impacts and, ultimately, dependencies.
Still, gaining the required buy-in and capital allocation to act remains challenging. There's one question on everyone's mind: what is the return on investment? The answer varies vastly depending on the action in mind. Implementing regenerative agriculture methods which reduce emissions while increasing yield poses a much clearer decision than an infrastructure project to mitigate the flood risk of a possible extreme weather event. But in an increasingly uninsurable world, can anyone afford not to act?
Good communication keeps sustainability relevant
CSRD had a clear ambition: to provide audiences – primarily investors – with decision-useful information. For now, at least, that ambition remains unmet for many. The sustainability statement is swiftly becoming a compliance exercise. With lawyers and auditors keeping a close eye on content, businesses are looking for communication opportunities beyond the annual report.
Leaders see a clear opportunity to leverage the annual reporting process – capturing evidence of progress – to craft year-round, tailored communications. To do so well requires mapping audiences: who they are, what they know, and what actions they need to take. External audiences hold great power whether to allocate capital, approve plans, or exercise purchasing power. Key stakeholder groups include investors, ratings agencies, customers, and local communities.
Did someone say 'AI'?
To have a conversation in 2026 without mention of AI is, of course, impossible. AI is reshaping the full value chain of communications, from creation to consumption. Businesses recognise the power of AI to enable more accurate, efficient and real-time data collection, analysis, and reporting. However, according to a survey of Ipsos ESG council members, 74 per cent have not meaningfully incorporated AI technologies into their ESG strategy so far. Meanwhile, audiences are turning to AI to consume sustainability content. But while content continues to live within dense PDF reports, LLMs will fail to return accurate information from source. AI-ready reporting requires clear, concise, and summarised narrative, supported by GEO tagging.
The dust is settling, impact is next
The overriding feeling from sustainability leaders in Montreux was one of ambition and eagerness. As businesses emerge from regulatory commotion and look to re-build confidence in the wake of backlash, the next agenda item is impact. Leaders are turning their attention to the actions which create – and communicate – genuine impact.
Impact has been on our minds at RY for a little while now too. We've recognised businesses have been stuck in a cycle of incremental change: trying to be a little ‘less bad' each year. Meanwhile, the actual efficacy of initiatives too often remains unmeasured and unknown. The ever-desired ability to articulate ‘return on investment' is suffering.
The good news? Reclaiming impact doesn't mean more work, just smarter work.
Based on our research, interviews and real-world experience, we've distilled a practical six-step blueprint to help any organisation move from effort to efficacy.
These are actionable, achievable shifts in mindset, process and governance that build clarity, strengthen business resilience and unlock the long-term value that true impact creates.
You can read the full report - including research findings and our six-step blueprint - here.
Rebecca Ward is senior sustainability strategist at Radley Yeldar.
This article is sponsored by Radley Yeldar.
