Happy 2026! Where to from here for Sustainability and ESG!?

Here is my irreverent, and hopefully light-hearted, take on what I am seeing in 2026. 

In Australia, the pendulum is swinging from voluntary action back towards mandatory action. This has everything to do with the 2024 amendments to the Corporations Act that mandate climate-related financial disclosures. As more entities are captured by these rules each year, the ESG conversation is shifting fast: 

• ESG efforts are becoming even more focused on climate (read: carbon), if that were even possible. 

• Climate is now being discussed at the top table and in dollar terms, even if not everyone at that table fully understands it. 

• Compliant disclosure and reporting are becoming, at least for the moment, more important than strategy and outcomes (a classic case of the tail wagging the dog). 

• And the usual suspects are lining up to charge handsomely for mandatory assurance activities that they have ring-fenced mainly for themselves. 

Believe it or not, this still represents progress. We ESG and sustainability practitioners are moving up the maturity curve, slowly but surely, not in a straight line, and not at the same pace everywhere. 

At the same time, as global politics increasingly question what our collective priorities ought to be, many ESG budgets are being cut, and voluntary initiatives are being stalled. Some organisations are stepping back from commitments and third-party certifications (e.g., B Corp, GRI, IS Ratings, and the like), encouraged by those in their orbit who were never truly interested in change. 

This is now playing out in two very different ways. Organisations that built real capability and management systems during the ESG “golden era” of 2019 to 2021 remain well-positioned to deliver on their commitments and meet stakeholder expectations. Those who enjoyed the parties but never did the work are finding the gaps between what they say and what they do growing uncomfortably wide. With no third-party certifications to lean on, an almighty hangover awaits... 

Despite all of this, there are genuinely encouraging trends that even politics seems unable to hold back. Renewable electricity, electrification, sustainable finance, supply-chain transparency, circularity, and nature and biodiversity are all reaching critical mass. In many of these areas, we are approaching tipping points where the benefits for the greater good will, at some point, become a lock. 

One other note. Like me, the word sustainability is having a full-blown midlife crisis. It has been going under other names and has even got a tattoo. It was last seen on a renewable energy project referring to itself as “Community Benefits”. 

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this enough to read to the end. I wish you and your people all the best for 2026. If you need help with anything sustainability-related in the second quarter of the 21st century, whether that is sorting out your governance board, your switchboard, or anything in between, give us a call for at least a chat. We will endeavour to be our typical selves: independent, expert, practical and authentic.