Data Reveals 3 Sustainability Strategies Linked To Business Growth

Forbes

a day ago

According to the Forbes Research 2025 State of Sustainability Survey, the highest-growth companies represented — those that reported at least a 15% year-over-year revenue increase — are setting the standard for sustainability.
Forty-one percent of these growth leaders identified sustainability as their number-one corporate priority, making them about 1.5 times more likely than the full pool of respondents to do so.
They're also 25% more likely than average to be on track to cut emissions by half by 2030.
What can we glean from these findings? Do these high-growth companies share any specific strategies or perspectives? According to the analysis, yes.
1) They back sustainability with financial investment
High-growth companies see sustainability as a smart investment. These organizations are 25% more likely than average to increase their sustainability budget by over 10% in the next 12 months.
2) They embed sustainability into culture
At high-growth companies, sustainability is a cultural focus, not just a buzzword. Executives there are more likely than average to report a company-wide commitment to prioritizing sustainability (64% vs. 57%). They also observe stronger collaboration within their C-suites on sustainability initiatives (72% vs. 68%). This signals a more integrated, organization-wide approach to sustainable strategy at the fastest-growing firms.
3) They engage their whole ecosystem in sustainability initiatives
High-growth companies tend to foster ongoing partnerships to accomplish their sustainability goals (43% compared to 39% on average), actively involving staff, suppliers and stakeholders. They also experience greater stakeholder expectations regarding transparency and reporting (61% vs. 55%), and a higher percentage are fully confident in their ability to digitally track and report on sustainability metrics (30% vs. 25%).