The 2020s are widely seen as the ‘decisive decade’ for sustainability action. Many organisations set their initial sustainability strategies and targets between 2019 and 2021, with interim targets in 2025 and final goals in 2030. These deadlines are far from arbitrary as 2030 aligns with global climate goals, regulatory shifts like the EU’s CSRD, and growing investor and consumer demands for measurable action.

2025 is the year in which interim targets will start to expire, requiring companies to reassess their progress towards sustainability goals and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) targets. Through this process, many are finding that they are off track to meeting their goals and need to recalibrate to ensure their new targets are focused, clear, and ultimately impactful.

Over the years, businesses have expanded their sustainability strategies and the ESG metrics that track them to cover an ever-growing list of material ESG topics, including, among others, climate commitments, human rights and DEI programs, and circular design initiatives. This comprehensive approach has been effective at managing a wide range of environmental and social impacts and ensuring stakeholder interests are addressed.

As organisational priorities shift and resources become increasingly constrained, sustainability teams are facing heightened scrutiny. In response, these teams must look at approaches that ensure sustainability initiatives remain both viable and impactful, even amidst limited funding and growing accountability demands.

There is a shift towards more strategic prioritisation within ESG, where organisations are leaning in on the issues that drive the most meaningful business and sustainability outcomes while thoughtfully deprioritising others. This doesn’t mean abandoning responsibility or compliance but rather focusing resources and attention on the areas where they can lead, differentiate, and create real value. Companies that focus on a few high-impact, business-aligned initiatives will create value and deliver on sustainability goals. It’s not about doing less—it’s about doing more of what matters most.

Addressing these strategic imperatives can help to cut through the noise, align your sustainability strategy and ESG efforts with what drives business and societal value, and move from intent to impact.

1. Reprioritise Efforts on High-Value Initiatives

Many companies continue to track and report on a long list of material ESG topics without clear prioritisation in their sustainability strategy, which can dilute their overall impact and messaging. A focused reprioritisation of sustainability efforts will clarify which can drive the most value and impact. Rather than addressing each material issue in isolation, organisations should identify areas where they have both the ambition and capability to lead. This begins with distinguishing between initiatives that are critical to business success while ensuring continued compliance with regulatory and stakeholder expectations.

2. Embed Value Creation at the Core

Many sustainability programs operate in parallel to business strategy, rather than as an integrated driver of business performance. Successful sustainability leaders clearly link sustainability to value creation, and ensure their efforts directly contribute to growth, cost savings, risk mitigation, or differentiation. Financial return and relevance to strategic business priorities are becoming core expectations for major sustainability investments.​

3. Elevate Performance Metrics and Accountability

For sustainability efforts to drive meaningful impact, they must be backed by high-quality metrics, transparent reporting, and strong accountability mechanisms. Many companies still feel pressured to track an overwhelming number of ESG indicators while losing sight of the strategic sustainability goals they were meant to support, often leading to data collection that becomes an end in itself, rather than a tool for informed decision-making. Too often, the data gathered lacks the consistency and rigor needed to be truly decision-useful. By focusing on fewer, higher-impact topics and improving the quality of the data collected—using digital solutions when applicable—companies can better integrate sustainability into core business strategy.

4. Make Sustainability a Defining Part of Organisation Identity

Any strategy will inevitably run into obstacles if it’s disconnected from your organisation’s culture and brand – after all, it’s your employees and leaders who bring these goals to life. To gain momentum, sustainability efforts in particular must go beyond compliance and risk management, evolving into a visible, strategic pillar of the organisation’s long-term positioning. Shifting the perception of sustainability from a cost center to a value driver requires embedding it at the heart of corporate strategy.

The companies making the most progress in sustainability aren’t the ones addressing the most ESG topics—they’re the ones making deliberate choices about where to focus and lead. The future of sustainability will be defined by sharp, strategic, and business-integrated approaches over broad, all-encompassing efforts.

For more information, please contact the Anthesis Ireland team here. Anthesis partners with businesses to refine their sustainability strategies by focusing on what truly drives impact and value creation.