Half of corporate buyers plan to drop unsustainable suppliers: Bain survey

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🗞️ Driving the news: A new survey by Bain & Company reveals that nearly half of corporate buyers plan to drop suppliers that fail to meet sustainability criteria within the next three years
• Sustainability has regained prominence among CEOs, not as a moral imperative, but as a core business value—despite public ESG backlash
• The survey finds growing alignment between environmental performance and commercial decisions across both B2B and consumer markets

🔭 The context: Sustainability had recently slipped down the corporate agenda, as companies shifted from ambitious target-setting to the more difficult task of implementation
• Bain’s latest analysis of over 35,000 CEO statements shows a renewed focus—now framed around risk, resilience, and value creation
• In 2025, 54% of CEOs linked sustainability directly to business value, up from just 34% in 2018
• This reframing is also influencing procurement behavior and consumer expectations

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: As buyers increasingly reward suppliers with credible sustainability credentials, market pressure is creating a powerful incentive for supply chain decarbonisation and innovation
• With 68% of B2B firms planning to increase sustainable purchasing and 60% of buyers expecting to pay a premium for greener products within three years, the transition to low-impact goods and services is accelerating
• This shift can drive meaningful emissions reductions—particularly in hard-to-abate supply chains

⏭️ What's next: Procurement will become a frontline driver of sustainability strategy
• Firms that fail to adapt risk revenue loss and reputational damage
• Companies with ambitious science-based targets are scaling up their efforts—10% increased their SBTi goals this year, compared to only 4% who rolled them back
• With the “sustainability of product offerings” set to become the second most important buying criterion by 2028, companies must embed sustainability into product design, not just operations

💬 One quote: “For sustainability, 2025 is the year CEOs turned down the volume—and accelerated action. Sustainability remains a priority. Customers and consumers demand it. Risk and disruption make it essential.” – Jean-Charles van den Branden & François Faelli, Bain & Company

📈 One stat: 49% of B2B buyers plan to drop suppliers that don’t meet sustainability standards by 2028

Explore carbon credit purchases, total emissions, and climate targets of thousands of companies on Data Hub™ — the first platform designed to help sustainability providers generate sales leads!

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