The State of Business
Sustainability 2026

The major challenges and opportunities that global companies are facing today.

Sustainability works

Sustainability is no longer a side project. It’s a source of business intelligence, cost savings, and competitive advantage for the businesses that have the right foundation in place.

But too many businesses are still battling fragmented data, manual processes, and limited supply chain visibility. The gap between those pulling ahead and those falling behind comes down to one thing: infrastructure.

Sweep polled over 100 enterprises across Europe and the US to understand how businesses are managing their carbon data today, what’s holding them back, and what it looks like when sustainability truly works.

The survey

sustainability leaders, including top-level and C-suite executives

economies: United States, United Kingdom, France, DACH and Nordics

Our key findings

When sustainability works, business works

of businesses with modern data infrastructure achieve tangible business results

make better strategic decisions with quality carbon intelligence

reduce compliance risk through audit-ready data systems

Supplier data is the #1 barrier globally

of businesses globally struggle with Scope 3 supplier engagement. Businesses that overcome this barrier unlock the biggest gains in both compliance readiness and strategic decision-making.

The platform advantage is real

Businesses using dedicated sustainability software don't just report better, they perform better.

of software users feel well-prepared for upcoming regulations
vs. 23% of those using spreadsheets

Software users are twice as likely to integrate sustainability into core business strategy

Platform adoption cuts cost inflation by 60% compared to spreadsheet-based approaches

Sustainability already runs through every business: in energy use, supply chains, procurement, compliance. Most companies just can’t see it clearly yet.

When you give teams centralized, audit-ready data, something shifts: sustainability stops being a reporting exercise and starts delivering real performance.