Global data and advisory company ISS-Corporate reports that global momentum in sustainability strategies remains strong, especially in the European, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific. And though 26% of U.S. companies report retracting their sustainability goals, 74% remain steady.
The company conducted a global survey of 220 corporate issuers between August 25 and September 19, 2025. It sought to capture corporate perspectives on the development of sustainability strategies, reporting practices, and key focus areas in response to market and regulatory shifts over the past year, and how these priorities may evolve in the years ahead. The survey was weighted toward the Americas with 93 respondents followed by Asia Pacific with 65 and EMEA with 62.
A majority of survey respondents in all three regions indicated that their organizations are either maintaining or expanding their sustainability efforts in response to political, market and regulatory developments of the past year. Regulation emerged as the most prominent driver of corporate sustainability practices, with 95% of respondents rating it as having “high” or “very high” importance for their organization.
Respondents in EMEA and Asia Pacific were likely to report expansion or maintenance of their sustainability strategies with 74% of those in the Americas doing the same. Only 26% of respondents in the Americas indicated a pullback in their sustainability programs.
Nearly 70% of respondents based in EMEA and Asia Pacific reported that they anticipated their sustainability disclosures to increase in terms of volume, detail, and use of quantitative metrics. Approximately 25-to-30% of respondents based in the Americas reported anticipated disclosure growth, and about half expect no change. Approximately 14-to-22% of respondents based in the Americas reported anticipating a decrease in disclosure activity. When asked about thematic priority areas, respondents across all three regions overwhelmingly cited climate, with other priorities differing by region.
Respondents also reported investing in the operational backbone of their sustainability programs. When asked about planned investments in third-party tools over the next 12-to-24 months, respondents across all regions highlighted tools that can support with sustainability data collection– particularly for greenhouse gas accounting and sustainability metrics – as their top priority, signaling a continued push toward more robust and auditable sustainability systems.
“Survey responses show that sustainability is not retreating – it’s recalibrating. Even in regions facing the strongest headwinds, most companies are holding steady or moving forward,” said Reinhilde Weidacher, Head of Corporate Sustainability Services at ISS-Corporate. “At the same time, local developments – particularly regulatory shifts and evolving political dynamics – are increasingly shaping corporate strategies, making these a key area of focus going forward.”
