By ELIZABETH BEARDSLEY, Senior Policy Counsel, U.S. Green Building Council

What is the state of sustainability in 2026? It depends where you look.

On the one hand, there are some ominous headlines about rollbacks, companies adjusting climate targets or walking away from net zero, and downsizing in-house sustainability staff. This adds to the many ways the U.S. government is also rolling back federal programs and incentives for energy efficiency and some types of clean energy. These are all very real and concerning patterns.

On the other hand, we are also seeing signs of increased sustainability actions. Many companies are becoming more sensitive to increased risks in the form of public sentiment, rising physical risks, and the sustained high cost of energy. Add approaching climate disclosures and whether they are called “sustainability” or not, these are boardroom topics that are still driving progress.

So, sustainability is evolving.

The shift we are in the midst of now is from sustainability as an add-on activity, to its incorporation into business practice. That is more sustainable (if I may) in the long term, but brings with it increased scrutiny in terms of value to the business. That value includes financial value, reputational value, and the value of reduced risk, now and into the future.

Consider the response that data centers are having on the public discourse today.

While data centers aren’t the first development boom to have environmental impacts, their scale and pace has captured public attention. With this has come new public awareness of energy and water impacts of development; and this leads right into what has been the biggest driver of reduced resource use: sustainability. When citizens take notice and express their concerns about energy, water, and other impacts, better policy and practices will follow.

As one of many examples, consider Oracle’s Project Jupiter, which under public attack modified its energy plan, moving to a low emissions fuel cell along with renewable energy. Oracle even recently announced a public dashboard which will disclose environmental data, and that it will engage a third-party expert to assess performance.

Increasing physical risks are also reinforcing sustainability actions, while they may be labelled as risk reduction. For example, a 2026 MSCI report found that a large majority of listed companies have identifiable activities related to adaptation and resilience. Corporate risk management activities documented by MSCI often are those that contribute to both sustainability and resilience. 
For example, drought risk management actions were being taken by 65% of companies and focused on water efficiency including reducing water use, recycling process water, or installing efficient irrigation — all strategies we also point to in sustainability practice.

One can also look to Climate Week NYC 2026. This year’s version is set to be the largest ever, expected to draw over 100,000 attendees across more than 1,000 events throughout New York City. Sustainability is embedded across all the activities on the climate action agenda. And by the way, participants are not just ‘green’ activists, but include CEOs, investors, insurance firms, banks, venture capital, philanthropy, think tanks and NGOs, companies from throughout the economy, governments, and policy advocates.

Still not convinced?

Consider Climate First Bank, the fastest growing new U.S. bank in nearly 20 years, already hitting $2 billion in assets. This is just the beginning.

As this transition takes root, instead of sustainability as a siloed aspiration or as the goal of a team that lacks authority, we’ll see a move to embed sustainability practices within operations, with shared responsibility and accountability. And this will ultimately benefit the sustainability professionals who will still be needed to monitor progress, track evolving market and investor expectations, connect goals and practices, and to manage reporting.

So many companies are still seeking solutions to today’s challenges, and sustainability – by whatever name or justification – cannot be ignored or dismissed. With that in mind, there’s a new resurgence ongoing in technology and implementation innovations focused on resilience.

So, yes, the state of sustainability is changing. But that change is creating the opportunity to reset your compass, keep calm, and still transform the world. 

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What is the state of sustainability? It depends where you look.

On the one hand, there are some ominous headlines about rollbacks, companies adjusting climate targets or walking away from net zero, and downsizing in-house sustainability staff. This adds to the many ways the U.S. government is also rolling back federal programs and incentives for energy efficiency and some types of clean energy. These are all very real and concerning patterns.

On the other hand, we are also seeing signs of increased sustainability actions. Many companies are becoming more sensitive to increased risks in the form of public sentiment, rising physical risks, and the sustained high cost of energy. Add approaching climate disclosures and whether they are called “sustainability” or not, these are Board room topics that are still driving progress. So, sustainability is evolving.

The shift we are in the midst of now is from sustainability as an add-on activity, to its incorporation into business practice. That is more sustainable (if I may) in the long term, but brings with it increased scrutiny in terms of value to the business. That value includes financial value, reputational value, and the value of reduced risk, now and into the future.

Consider the response that data centers are having on the public discourse today.

While data centers aren’t the first development boom to have environmental impacts, their scale and pace has captured public attention. With this has come new public awareness of energy and water impacts of development; and this leads right into what has been the biggest driver of reduced resource use: sustainability. When citizens take notice and express their concerns about energy, water, and other impacts, better policy and practices will follow.

As one of many examples, consider Oracle’s Project Jupiter, which under public attack modified its energy plan, moving to a low emissions fuel cell along with renewable energy. Oracle even recently announced a public dashboard which will disclose environmental data, and that it will engage a third-party expert to assess performance.

Increasing physical risks are also reinforcing sustainability actions, while they may be labelled as risk reduction. For example, a 2026 MSCI report found that a large majority of listed companies have identifiable activities related to adaptation and resilience. Corporate risk management activities documented by MSCI often are those that contribute to both sustainability and resilience. 
For example, drought risk management actions were being taken by 65% of companies and focused on water efficiency including reducing water use, recycling process water, or installing efficient irrigation — all strategies we also point to in sustainability practice.

One can also look to Climate Week NYC 2026. This year’s version is set to be the largest ever, expected to draw over 100,000 attendees across more than 1,000 events throughout New York City. Sustainability is embedded across all the activities on the climate action agenda. And by the way, participants are not just ‘green’ activists, but include CEOs, investors, insurance firms, banks, venture capital, philanthropy, think tanks and NGOs, companies from throughout the economy, governments, and policy advocates.

Still not convinced?

Consider Climate First Bank, the fastest growing new U.S. bank in nearly 20 years, already hitting $2 billion in assets. This is just the beginning.

As this transition takes root, instead of sustainability as a siloed aspiration or as the goal of a team that lacks authority, we’ll see a move to embed sustainability practices within operations, with shared responsibility and accountability. And this will ultimately benefit the sustainability professionals who will still be needed to monitor progress, track evolving market and investor expectations, connect goals and practices, and to manage reporting.

So many companies are still seeking solutions to today’s challenges, and sustainability – by whatever name or justification – cannot be ignored or dismissed. With that in mind, there’s a new resurgence ongoing in technology and implementation innovations focused on resilience.

So, yes, the state of sustainability is changing. But that change is creating the opportunity to reset your compass, keep calm, and still transform the world. 

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