The Year Ahead: Strategic Insights for CSOs and Sustainability Teams in 2026

2025 was a wild ride, and based on the first month of 2026, it seems last year was just a warm-up for what’s ahead. In our last post recapping the year of pivots, pullbacks, and purpose, we talked about how we helped our clients navigate the uncertainty and exhausting year of false starts that was 2025.  It feels dangerous to predict the future, so we won’t, but we will share our insights and questions that can help CSO and Sustainability teams prepare for the year ahead to make the most of the opportunities on the horizon.

1. Uncertainty is the Only Certainty

We know you are probably rolling your eyes right now, but unfortunately, this is our new norm. Geopolitics is reshaping itself, and our supply chains in the process. Regulations in the US and EU are being delayed, amended, or rolled back, leaving sustainability teams in limbo. Many feel pressure to collect, measure, and manage data for rules that may or may not materialize. The reality is that we have to accept this uncertainty and plan accordingly. That doesn’t mean reacting to everything, but it does mean setting clear ground rules. In fact, conversations with sustainability leaders reveal that sometimes the smartest move is to pause and wait for final guidance before taking action.

Questions you can ask yourself to prepare for the year ahead: 

1. If final guidance landed tomorrow, what critical data or processes would we still be missing, and which risks, regulatory, customer, or reputational, would be most urgent?

2. What can we build now that is regulation-agnostic, including data systems, controls, and governance, to stay flexible while maintaining credibility?

3.  What is the minimum compliance posture that manages reporting, process changes, and risk, and which risks worsen if delayed 12 to 18 months?

2. Proof is Everything

No more talk without proof of action. The era of performative commitments and big, audacious goals with a 50/50 chance of success is over. Stakeholders, regulators, and the public are demanding real results, not glossy promises. Emissions, greenwashing, and vague pledges are under unprecedented scrutiny, from the EU Green Claims Directive to the UK ASA regulations. Trust in corporate sustainability continues to decline, as shown in the 2024/25 Edelman Trust Barometer, while frameworks like SBTi and B Corp are tightening oversight of climate transition plans. The question is no longer if you have a plan; it’s whether your plan is backed with measurable targets, resources, and the investment needed to turn ambition into impact.

Questions you can ask yourself to prepare for the year ahead: 

1. Can we independently verify this claim today?

2. Is this a directional commitment or an operational reality?

3. Would this statement survive regulatory or NGO scrutiny in 18 months?

3. Carbon Tunnel Vision Is Over

For years, the focus has been on net-zero and climate commitments. While still important, in 2026, nature is moving from “adjacent” to truly material. Companies that are leading in the space are developing holistic, nature-based strategies that integrate water, forests, and biodiversity into core business planning. Adoption of frameworks like the TNFD is accelerating among multinationals even before mandatory requirements, while COP15’s Global Biodiversity Framework is driving nature-positive commitments across governments and corporates. Financial institutions are increasingly factoring water stress, deforestation, and land-use risks into investment decisions, and regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation now require plot-level transparency. Forward-thinking firms are no longer treating climate and nature risks separately; they’re embedding both into integrated strategies, recognizing that environmental resilience is now central to operational and financial performance. 

Questions you can ask yourself to prepare for the year ahead: 

1. Which natural systems does our business actually depend on (water, soil, forests)?

2. Where do nature risks intersect with financial or operational risk today?

3. Are we managing nature as a compliance issue—or as a resilience strategy?

4. Lack of Affordability Forces Circularity

Geopolitical disruptions and economic pressures are setting the stage for circular solutions to take off in 2026. Since China stopped accepting recyclables in 2018, much of what could have been salvaged has ended up in landfills. But research shows that the opportunity in that waste is massive. A recent Kansas City material flow analysis found that 77% of the three million tons sent to landfill is actually worth $250 million. Redirecting those materials into the circular economy could create more than 5,000 jobs and establish the region’s next industry cluster, with a market value exceeding $1 billion. Food waste is another underutilized opportunity, representing $540 billion if supply chain inefficiencies are solved. In short, these challenges aren’t just obstacles; they’re opportunities for circularity to thrive in 2026, turning economic pressure into local innovation and growth.

Questions you can ask yourself to prepare for the year ahead: 

1. Where are we paying to dispose of value?

2. What materials are cost centers today that could become inputs tomorrow?

3. Which circular pilots reduce cost first—and emissions second?

5.Supplier Collaboration Goes Mainstream

Based on our work in 2025, we think supplier collaboration is set to go mainstream in 2026, and for good reason. Companies have made great strides in measuring scopes 1 and 2, but the real opportunity for change lies in Scope 3 and engaging the supply chain.  But it’s the most challenging. As of 2024, only 41% of companies responding to CDP reported engaging their suppliers on climate-related issues, but the risks and opportunities embedded in supply chains are only as manageable as the data you can access from your suppliers. Platforms like Amazon Business have made the EcoVadis supplier engagement metric mandatory, and GHG measurement platforms like Greenly, have incorporated supplier engagement tools as part of their core Net-Zero offering.  In 2026, supplier data will be critical to creating a complete, accurate inventory and truly understanding your company’s impact.

Questions you can ask yourself to prepare for the year ahead: 

1. Which suppliers represent our biggest risk—not our biggest spend?

2. What data can suppliers realistically provide today vs. in 2 years?

3. Where can we standardize requests instead of adding burden?

In summary, none of us can predict the future, but we can plan for resilience. And our bet is firmly on optimizing for optionality and collaboration, not speed or perfection.  If you need help navigating and preparing for 2026 and beyond, contact us.