Global Sustainability Trends: How Businesses Can Lead
From 10th to 21st November, global leaders will convene in Belém for COP30—a crucial event affecting both climate diplomacy and business strategies. For FMCG companies, this summit signals that environmental risks have become top priorities at the board level.
Current Challenges Impacting Business
- Droughts, deforestation, and water scarcity are disrupting supply chains.
- Consumers increasingly demand transparency from companies.
Source: Euromonitor Voice of the Industry Survey, fielded April 2025 (n=258) and April 2024 (n=499)
Insights from the Global Sustainability Trends Report
The report Global Sustainability Trends: Embracing a Lower Carbon Future highlights how leading businesses are using sustainability as a tool for resilience, innovation, and growth. Execution is moving faster than strategy in many companies:
- 62% plan to launch sustainable products, but only 53% have a net-zero strategy in place.
- Only 6% believe they effectively communicate sustainability to consumers.
Key Actions for Businesses
Sustainability leadership requires full integration throughout the business, not isolated projects. Despite strong momentum, global greenhouse gas emissions are expected to increase by 0.4% annually until 2029, showing the systemic nature of the challenge.
Examples of Progress
Brands like Strong Roots and Neutral Foods are using verified carbon data to build consumer trust and differentiate themselves in competitive markets. Transparency around carbon emissions is becoming a vital competitive advantage.
Waste contributes 3% [incomplete figure from original content].
Author’s summary: Businesses must embed sustainability strategically to overcome systemic climate challenges and leverage transparency as a growth opportunity.
Would you like me to add more details or format the incomplete data point differently?