Why Is The C-suite Turning Sustainability Into Strategy?

Deloitte Global’s 2025 C-Suite Sustainability Report shows that focusing on sustainability remains a top business priority for leaders - and its value as a business case is only increasing.

In its fourth year, and with answers from more than 2,100 C-suite executives spanning 27 countries, the survey explores the current state of corporate sustainability and how companies are evolving their approach to making their operations more environmentally friendly and responsible.

Sustainability has remained a priority on the business agenda for three years now, according to Deloitte - with 45% of respondents saying climate change/sustainability is a top three challenge for their companies in the coming year.

This is on par with technology adoption and innovation, but ranks higher than areas such as economic outlook and supply chain challenges.

CEOs committed to sustainability 

The survey shows that sustainability investments have continued to increase - more than one-fifth of the largest companies surveyed said their investments have increased by more than 20% from the year prior.

Leaders are also recognising the business case and related benefits from corporate sustainability efforts, with many saying it creates a positive impact in financial (revenue and cost) and non-financial (brand, compliance, risk management) terms.

Impact on company sustainability goals/environmental outcomes was ranked the most influential factor that drives decision making within the execs’ firms - at over a quarter.

When asked about sustainability strategy and approach, Takashi Yamanishi, Executive Vice president and Chief Sustainability and Supply Chain Officer at Fujitsu says: “We confirmed within our C-suite Executive that sustainability is our North Star.”

Amelia DeLuca, Chief Sustainability Officer of Delta Air Lines, says: “You get more enduring change. We’re not just doing it for sustainability’s sake, we’re doing it because it actually makes sense for the business, and that means it’s going to be stickier.”

Deloitte finds that high-priority sustainability efforts are most strongly associated with revenue generation and cost savings and resiliency.

Only 10% of surveyed execs said that their sustainability initiatives had a negative impact on a variety of business outcomes, including revenue generation, cost reduction, brand and reputation, and risk and resiliency.

Amelia adds: “This should’ve been our hardest year yet (for sustainability) but it’s actually been our best year. And I think that’s because we’ve shifted to a strategy that was really focused on ‘control what you can control and do that really well'.”

Navigating the future of C-suite led sustainability 

The sustainability landscape is ever-adapting to policy regulations and the global economics of sustainability solutions are constantly shifting, so leaders must find a way to build resilience against this.

Based on past survey data, Deloitte outlines an emerging roadmap around a set of sustainability actions. 

These are proposed as a potential path leaders can take to implement sustainability into strategy and innovation. They include:

• Implementing technology solutions 
• Using more sustainable materials 
• Developing more sustainable products and services 
• Implementing operational efficiency measures
• Tracking and disclosing sustainability metrics 

To guide their organisations though today’s dynamic conditions, Deloitte says C-suite leaders can consider:

1. Which sustainability matters are material for their business and stakeholders? Where can the organisation create real value and impact?
2. What resources is their organisation willing and able to commit? 
3. How patient is their organisation? How patient are their key stakeholders?
4. What level of risk and uncertainty can their business tolerate? What volatility can the organisation absorb?
5. What are the dependencies? Would this action require policy shifts, technology breakthroughs, demand guarantees and ecosystem alignment?

Answering these questions within the C-suite gives organisations the opportunity to evaluate their sustainability ambition, strategy, investments, initiatives and execution to build resilience with their sustainability goals.