The potential of AI in sustainability and compliance often remains untapped

• 82 percent of companies rate AI as highly or very highly relevant in the ESG context; in the area of governance, risk and compliance (GRC), the figure is 66 percent 
• At the same time, only 25 percent of companies are currently actively using AI in the ESG environment, and 13 percent in the GRC context 
• 86 percent see efficiency gains as the greatest benefit of AI 
• The biggest hurdles are data quality (71 percent), security and compliance requirements (54 percent) and a lack of internal expertise (49 percent)

Berlin, June 24, 2026
 

Artificial intelligence is regarded by companies as a key lever for meeting increasing requirements in the areas of ESG and Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC). In operational practice, however, its use remains limited. Whilst 82 per cent of companies rate AI as highly or very highly relevant in the ESG context, the figure is 66 per cent in the GRC area. At the same time, only one in four companies currently actively uses AI in the ESG environment, and around one in eight in the GRC context. This is shown by the study “AI in Sustainability and Governance: Managing Risks, Ensuring Compliance” by KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, based on an international survey of 157 companies.

AI use focuses on clearly structured and data-intensive tasks. More than 50 per cent of companies use AI in reporting, data management, as well as in compliance and audit processes. The focus here is clearly on operational benefits: 86 per cent of companies see efficiency gains as the greatest added value, whilst 69 per cent cite support with regulatory requirements. 

As a driver of innovation or new business models, however, AI has so far played hardly any role. Only 23 per cent of companies in the ESG context and 13 per cent in the GRC sector see relevant potential here. The use of AI therefore remains largely limited to the optimisation of existing processes.

The biggest obstacles lie not in the technology itself, but in the prerequisites. 71 per cent of companies cite insufficient data quality as a key hurdle to AI deployment. Furthermore, 54 per cent see high security and compliance requirements as a major obstacle, whilst 49 per cent point to a lack of internal expertise. Fragmented systems and organisational barriers prevent AI from being scaled beyond individual use cases. 

To enable AI to be used more widely, companies must create the conditions for the consistent use of ESG and GRC data and integrate the technology more closely into existing processes.