UL Solutions ‘Sustainability Surge’ Report Offers Insights on Sustainable Innovation

What can corporate leaders do to achieve their sustainability goals? Which strategies are effective for implementing an enterprise-wide approach to sustainable innovation? A new report from UL Solutions, "The Sustainability Surge: Structure is the New Strategy," tackles those complex questions and offers insights on overcoming various obstacles.

This new report examines the challenges that industrial leaders face when trying to operationalize their sustainability efforts. According to the report, over 85% of executives are preparing to increase their spending on sustainability, but only one in four is reporting very high impact on their business from their current efforts.

Chief sustainability officers (CSOs), environmental, social and governance (ESG) leaders, investor relations teams and operational executives shared their perspectives on the strategies, structures and tools needed to scale sustainability across their enterprises.

The report offered the analysis that "ambition is abundant, but structure is lacking." Common obstacles to sustainability efforts include fragmented innovation and a lack of strategic alignment across the organization's functions.

Here are a few key insights from the report:

"Many industrial leaders still treat sustainability as peripheral to core business strategy."

Two-thirds of executives say sustainability is a core part of their company's corporate strategy, while more than one in three admits that it remains largely tactical or not fully integrated in their corporate strategy. Companies that view sustainability as core to their strategy were far more likely to report measurable business outcomes such as bottom-line growth from sustainability innovation.

"Leaders increasingly view sustainability not only as a regulatory or reputational concern but as a strategic engine for value creation and future-readiness."

Of the leaders surveyed, less than 2% plan to reduce or pause sustainability investment.

"Emissions and supply chains are the new sustainability battleground."

Among those surveyed, the top three sustainability priorities were (1) reducing carbon footprint and emissions, (2) increasing sustainability-focused research and development (R&D) and innovation, and (3) enhancing supply chain sustainability and traceability.

"Defining success remains a challenge and a major opportunity."

In the survey, executives commented on what they want from a third-party sustainability innovation framework. A key priority is the ability to link their sustainability investments directly to their business outcomes. Just 17% said alignment with ESG reporting frameworks was most important: The report's analysis is that leaders currently are seeking practical, not performative, approaches.

The report, available here, offers an array of statistics, along with five recommended priorities for industrial executives striving to turn sustainability innovation into lasting growth.

A global leader in applied safety science, UL Solutions transforms safety, security and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers in more than 110 countries. To learn more about UL Solutions' services, visit the sustainability and environment page.