Sustainability is a business resilience issue

The 2026 UK CEO Outlook paints a picture of CEOs who are focused on building resilient organisations in the face of ongoing external and internal pressures. The vast majority (96%) say that their resilience planning agenda has moved from short-term to long-term over the past year.

Sustainability is a key part of that agenda. The resilient organisation has an adaptation plan to manage the impact of heatwaves, flooding and drought. It has put in place measures to address energy insecurity. It recognises that sustainability isn’t simply about compliance; it provides the basis for innovation and growth.

Almost three-quarters (71%) of UK CEOs say that successfully addressing sustainability issues is important to the longevity of their business. But they’re finding that the public debate around climate change detracts from their ability to stay focused on what matters. 

UK CEOs are under pressure to keep up with changing expectations around sustainability. In particular, they’re facing challenges due to differences in sustainability regulation and expectations across markets. The majority (91%) of UK CEOs say this presents at least a moderate challenge. That comprises 17% who say the challenges are significant, making it difficult to maintain a consistent approach. A further 75% say the challenge is moderate and they’re able to adapt their approach by regions where needed.

In response to geopolitical developments and internal business pressures, CEOs are adapting their approach to sustainability. Just 4% are carrying on as they were. And while 16% are sharpening their focus on what they see as the most critical sustainability issues for their business, 25% say they’re increasing their sustainability efforts across the organisation. The regional variation in approach to sustainability is clear when that’s compared to the global average – where 21% are refocusing and 14% are expanding.

Over half (55%) of UK CEOs say they’re responding to pressure by embedding sustainability more deeply into core business strategy. In our 2025 CEO Outlook, 27% of UK CEOs said their organisations comprehensively calculate and integrate both the costs and potential return on investment of sustainability initiatives into every major capital decision. That’s risen to 29% in 2026. And the proportion considering ROI from sustainability in some capital decisions has increased to 42% from 39%.

The energy trilemma is never far from the headlines at present: how do we balance cost, security and sustainability? Faced with these issues, CEOs are changing how they source and secure energy for their operations over the next three to five years.

Almost half (48%) say they’re diversifying their external supply: increasing the use of renewable or lower-carbon energy through supplier contracts, green tariffs or power purchase agreements. Meanwhile, 37% are looking to tackle demand: reducing energy needs through efficiency measures, with no major change to energy sourcing.