5 Mistakes most businesses will make this year with sustainability

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🗞️ Driving the news: Bernard Marr outlines five common sustainability missteps businesses are making in 2025, warning that neglecting these issues risks not just reputational damage but long-term strategic failure
• As environmental and social pressures intensify, companies must avoid superficial efforts and fully embed sustainability into their core business strategy

🔭 The context: Sustainability has evolved from a public relations talking point to a foundational element of modern business resilience
• With mounting investor pressure, regulatory tightening (such as the EU's due diligence directive), and consumer scrutiny, companies are expected to move beyond greenwashing to implement measurable, systemic change across operations and supply chains

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Superficial or disjointed sustainability approaches — such as ignoring supply chain practices or failing to leverage ESG data—slow progress toward addressing climate change and waste
• True impact requires transparency, long-term investment, and full life-cycle accountability
• By integrating sustainability into decision-making, companies can drive systemic benefits that align profit with planetary health

⏭️ What's next: Forward-thinking companies will prioritise ESG data literacy, enforce responsible supply chain standards, and position sustainability at the executive level
• Regulatory developments, consumer activism, and resource scarcity will continue to escalate the cost of inaction
• Businesses are planning to shift from reactive compliance to proactive strategy or risk being left behind in an increasingly green economy

💬 One quote: “Failing to adopt sustainable practices today could lead to serious challenges in the future, especially as non-renewable resources grow scarcer,” warns Bernard Marr

📈 One stat: Plastics alone accounted for more global emissions than aviation and shipping combined in 2019, underscoring the urgency of supply chain sustainability

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of IKEA and its peers Target, and Walmart

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