2025 was an extremely difficult year for corporate sustainability, especially in the U.S.
Core priorities – from cutting carbon emissions and investing in clean tech to building inclusive workforces – were under constant attack, much of it from the government. At one point, the administration even tried to stop the construction of a giant offshore wind farm that was 80% done.
Inside companies, sustainability leaders had to keep their heads down. Their departments saw reduced resources and clout, and a handful were shut down. But the biggest story of the year may be that there is a story: the sustainability work continued. In the U.S., talking a lot less about sustainability (“greenhushing”) became the norm.
Still, many adopted some British philosophy: keep calm and carry on … quietly. But looking only at the U.S. gives a warped picture. While headlines focused on the handful of companies pulling back on sustainability, or on a slowdown in clean tech growth, globally, the story was different. The U.S. is not the world.
Part of what kept sustainability on the corporate agenda was the harsh reality of the world’s greatest challenges getting worse. Inequality grew, especially at the very top, where individuals amassed unfathomable wealth (hundreds of billions of dollars) and some corporate valuations hit unreal heights ($4 trillion to $5 trillion).
Reports of sustainability’s death were loud –Bloomberg Businessweek ran a cover story about it – but greatly exaggerated. Yes, a few high-profile companies scaled back some goals. But as the year wore on, the big consulting companies looked past one-offs and gathered real data.
Predicting anything these days is laughably hard, but a few topics will likely rise on the sustainability agenda: growing concern about plastics and health; the limits of greenhushing as a strategy; and the repercussions of AI’s attack on reality, especially as the U.S heads into midterm elections. Misinformation and anti-science hogwash will continue to plague us.
This has been a tough year. But the story of sustainability in this era is one of winning and losing. The battle to put sustainability on the agenda was won – which is partly why the backlash has been so intense. And global investment in the clean economy is awe-inspiring and exciting. But our challenges are still growing, and 2026 will bring both devastating weather events (which are now not “record” but normal) and amazing stories of people rising to the occasion. Where we’ll be by early 2027 is anyone’s guess.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
