Data, practicality and resilience: Chief Sustainability Officers share 2026 predictions
With regulation taking a backseat next year, the focus will be on efficient reporting, resilience and local action.
As a tumultuous year comes to an end, Chief Sustainability Officers are preparing to focus on practical, locally-based and data-driven solutions to increase business resilience in 2026.
2025 saw regulators in Europe and the US walk back previous initiatives to increase corporate transparency around sustainability: the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate disclosure rule was buried for good under the Trump administration, and the sustainability Omnibus drastically reduced the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) in Europe.