Despite uncertainty and dynamic regulatory changes, sustainability continued to attract investment in 2025, particularly in technology, and remains a priority for 45% of global business leaders in 2026, almost on par with technology and artificial intelligence adoption (44%), according to the Deloitte 2025 C-suite Sustainability Global Report. Respondents indicate that they feel less pressure to take action on sustainability from almost all major stakeholder groups. These include regulators, which were the top source of pressure in 2022 for 77% of survey participants, down to 58% in 2025, board members (down from 75% in 2022 to 60% in 2025), customers (down from 75% to 57%), civil society and NGOs (down from 72% to 57%), shareholders (down from 71% to 58%), and employees (down from 65% to 54%). Leaders also say that climate change is less of a factor influencing their short-term business strategy and operations than in previous years.
However, survey participants say that current market conditions, such as economic uncertainty, or other priorities, such as the need to invest more in technology, have not caused them to stop investing in sustainability. No less than 83% of the study participants stated that their organizations have increased investments in technologies aimed at supporting the area of sustainability, and the majority (79%) are either transforming their business model or integrating sustainability considerations throughout the organization. Also, over 80% of companies are already using artificial intelligence (AI), and 16% of them plan to use AI in the next year to increase efficiency and reduce their carbon emissions (65%), to monitor data and indicators for reporting (58%), to reduce risks (53%), and to develop new and sustainable products and services (52%).
Similar to 2024, implementing technology solutions was among the actions most frequently mentioned (46%) by companies to achieve ESG (environmental, social, governance) objectives, followed by using more sustainable materials (45%), monitoring and analyzing environmental indicators (44%), and developing employees specialized in sustainability topics (44%). Other actions include developing new sustainable products or services (44%), purchasing renewable energy (42%) and using sustainability performance indicators in the remuneration of top management teams (36%).
“Although the pressure generated by the regulatory framework has diminished, companies still feel the need to take action in the direction of sustainability, as it is an aspect that remains relevant for customers, investors and employees, and represents a competitive advantage in the market. And the study proves its usefulness in this regard, providing a practical roadmap for implementing a set of sustainability actions, which can serve as a guide for companies to integrate sustainability considerations into strategy, operations and innovation and highlights the wide variety of measurable benefits”, said Alexandru Reff, Country Managing Partner, Deloitte Romania and Moldova.
Regarding the impacts of sustainability efforts, revenue generation (66%) is the most frequently cited business benefit, followed by regulatory compliance (61%), brand and reputation (60%), risk and resilience (55%), and cost reduction (55%). Technology solutions have become a key factor in streamlining processes and operations (55%) to support sustainability, in internal monitoring of sustainability data and performance (54%), monitoring of supply chain environmental performance (53%), developing new sustainable products or services (52%), and in external reporting of sustainability data (e.g. ESG reports, 49%).
“The Deloitte study shows that business leaders around the world continue to place climate change and sustainability among their strategic priorities. With the recent relaxation of regulations in the European Union, including in Romania, business leaders have the opportunity to channel their resources and vision to convert sustainability from a compliance exercise into a true transformational tool for creating value in the medium and long term. Companies prioritize in-depth analysis of processes and operations, supply chain review and risk identification, which are critical steps for improving financial efficiency and resilience, and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, play a key role in implementing sustainability measures, which are increasingly based on data analysis. In fact, most leaders see investments in new technologies as a complement, not a competitor, to investments in sustainability, and 70% of them said that the need to invest in AI and other technologies has also determined the intensification of sustainability actions,” said Ovidiu Popescu, Partner, Deloitte Romania, Energy and Sustainability Practice Leader.
Regarding the obstacles encountered in their sustainability efforts, relatively few survey participants mentioned costs (11%) or lack of policy support (13%), instead indicating challenges in measuring environmental impact (22%) and focusing on short-term business requirements (21%).