26 February 2026

Sustainability Transformation Monitor 2026Sustainability Remains a Top Priority in Companies—But the Momentum is Gone

Photo: STM

Now in its fourth year, the Sustainability Transformation Monitor is conducted annually in cooperation with the Bertelsman Stiftung, the Stiftung Mercator, the University of Hamburg, and the Peer School for Sustainable Development.

In 73 percent of companies, responsibility for the sustainability transformation is still anchored at board or management level. The climate targets we have set ourselves remain largely unchanged. However, the topic is noticeably losing priority and momentum. This is shown by the fourth Sustainability Transformation Monitor (STM) published by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, Stiftung Mercator, the University of Hamburg, and the Peer School for Sustainable Development. The survey included responses from 822 companies in the real and financial economy in Germany. The STM also shows why momentum has been lost: companies perceive uncertain political framework conditions and a lack of market incentives as the greatest obstacles to more transformation.

The issue of sustainability is currently taking a back seat in the public debate, which has also had an impact on the attitude of companies. For 59 percent of companies in the real and financial sectors, sustainability is losing priority internally. This is a marked contrast to the 14 percent of companies who gave the same response in the previous year. Large companies and larger SMEs in particular are feeling the effects of the debates. The declining momentum is also reflected in the stagnation of responsibility for the topic at the board and management level, with no change compared to the previous year. The proportion of companies that reported having it “in the pipeline” has also fallen by 7 percentage points.

The strongest drivers of the sustainability transformation are “future employees” and “management”,, followed by the “young generation” and “competitors”. It is striking that almost all potential drivers are decreasing in intensity, in some cases sharply (employees: -12 percentage points, management: -7 percentage points). From the company perspective, the change in the relevance of politics for the transformation process has been significant. In previous years, companies still saw it as an important driver, but this relevance had fallen by 31 percentage points for the STM 2026. At the same time, uncertain political and regulatory framework conditions are now perceived more strongly as an obstacle to transformation (+30 percentage points).

Lack of economic incentives is slowing down the transformation process

“Without clear, reliable signals from politicians and markets, the transformation threatens to enter a phase of stagnation,” concludes Jakob Kunzlmann, sustainability expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung. “We now need a new focus: more strategic prioritization, reliable political framework conditions and market-based incentives, such as CO₂pricing with reliable price paths. This is the only way for ecological and social aspects to become an effective investment and competitive factor.”

Where there is a lack of pressure from politicians, “business case” considerations, i.e., expectations of measurable economic benefits from the sustainability transformation may take priority. However, only 17 percent of companies see this clear business case. It is true that 43 percent recognize a financial added value for their companies through the integration of ecological and social issues. However, this has so far been lower than the associated costs. This explains why around 70 percent of companies report that a lack of economic incentives is slowing down their transformation.

More companies are setting their own climate targets

Despite this, the sustainability transformation has not disappeared entirely from the agenda. The proportion of companies and banks that record their greenhouse gas emissions has risen to 86 percent. The climate targets in the real economy are also largely being maintained or even further developed. The proportion of companies with self-imposed climate targets increased from 53 percent to 59 percent. In the case of banks, it rose from 46 percent to 65 percent, an even more significant increase. “It is an important signal that more and more companies are recording their emissions and adhering to climate targets. It is now crucial that concrete transformation paths with clear investment decisions, timelines, and financing plans emerge from this,” says Philipp Wesemann, project manager in the Climate Resilient Society department at Stiftung Mercator. In many cases, however, specific plans on how to achieve the targets are still lacking. Of the companies with climate targets, 41 percent stated that their transition plan is still “in the planning stage”. “Data for transformation are not an end in itself. They must be integrated into corporate management as well as investment and financing decisions,” explains Manuel Reppmann, a sustainability expert from the University of Hamburg and project manager for the study.

Companies are well prepared for reporting, and remain so even without mandatory reporting requirements.

The EU omnibus procedure, which aims to simplify reporting obligations for companies and reduce the scope of application, has in many cases led to a slowdown or temporary suspension of the reporting process. At the same time, around 59 percent of companies subject to reporting requirements from 2027 already feel well or very well prepared for EU-wide reporting obligations; only around 18 percent reported feeling insufficiently prepared. Of the companies surveyed that will be exempt from the reporting obligation in future, 75 percent stated they also intend to submit sustainability reports in future, with just under 8 percent no longer planning to report.

Sustainability plays a role in corporate financing, but this role is not increasing

Sustainability also remains present in financing practice, although the perceived relevance is decreasing. Only 30 percent of companies and 37 percent of banks rate sustainability as important in financing discussions. The importance of both groups is also declining (-8 and -9 percentage points respectively). Both banks and companies expect sustainability to play a role in corporate financing in the future. However, approval in the real economy is lower than for banks (at 45 percent and 79 percent respectively), and is declining on both sides. “Sustainability data are widely available today, but the impact on lending decisions remains limited. As long as they are not systematically incorporated into risk analyses and conditions, there will be no tangible incentives for transformation. Sustainable finance must therefore evolve more strongly from a reporting tool to a management tool,” says Incken Wentorp, sustainability expert at the Peer School for Sustainable Development. In the new phase of the sustainability transformation, functional cooperation along value chains and between the real and the virtual world is becoming increasingly important. “Transformation is increasingly a coordination task between companies, banks, investors and politicians. Many solutions only emerge when these players work together,” explains Laura Marie Edinger-Schons, Chief Sustainability Officer and Professor of Sustainable Management at the University of Hamburg.