The State of Sustainability: From Ambition to Authentic Action

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The State of Sustainability: From Ambition to Authentic Action

October 27, 2025

Looking back at Climate Week NYC 2025, one sentiment echoed across sessions, stages, and side events: the era of sustainability as aspiration is over. The next chapter is about facing the headwinds through integration, credible ROI, and communication that bridges ambition with accountability and impact.

This year, FINN Partners hosted the Climate and Sustainability Leadership Forum 2025: a series of webinars and discussions that convened corporate sustainability leaders, investors, NGOs, academics, and journalists to explore the evolving state of climate action. We also gathered clients, partners, and colleagues at our evening reception to reflect on what's working, what's not, and what comes next in advancing a more sustainable, just, and resilient global economy.

From energy transition to regenerative food systems, from corporate accountability to climate storytelling, the themes converged around one truth: sustainability must now prove both its purpose and its performance.

The tone of Climate Week 2025 was notably pragmatic. Ambition remains strong, but stakeholders across the value chain - investors, policymakers, consumers, and employees - are now demanding demonstrable progress. It is all about making the business case for sustainability.

In conversations at the FINN Climate and Sustainability Leadership Forum, and across events we attended, it became clear that sustainability has entered its maturity phase. Organizations are shifting from pledges to proof, from symbolic commitments to measurable impact, where performance data and business integration matter as much as purpose.

Companies are moving beyond high-level targets toward operational integration - embedding climate and ESG goals into finance, supply chain, and innovation functions.

But as the systems evolve, so must the storytelling.

There is growing scrutiny around "greenhushing", the hesitancy to communicate progress for fear of backlash, yet silence risks eroding stakeholder trust even more than overstatement.

The gap between doing and demonstrating is widening. For leaders, this means ensuring communications strategies evolve alongside sustainability performance - grounded in transparency, data, and human connection.

The conversation around clean energy reflected both optimism and realism. Global renewable energy capacity is still growing at record speed, with 93% of all new power additions this year coming from renewables. Yet while the world embraces renewable energy and innovation, parts of the U.S. are doubling down on fossil fuels in the name of energy independence, underscoring the importance of private-sector leadership in driving the transition forward.

At Newsweek's Powering Ahead event, speakers from PG&E, Octopus Energy, and Brightcore Energy underscored how renewables have shifted from "green" to "growth." Clean energy isn't just about sustainability, it's also about economics, reliability, and resilience.

At New York Times Climate Forward, executives from Microsoft and Google echoed this message during discussions around AI and energy demand: the grid of the future must be both carbon-free and capacity-ready. It's become a business continuity issue, which is driving innovations from smart buildings and geothermal networks to the deployment of microgrids powered by solar and nuclear energy.

This evolution is changing how sustainability leaders communicate the value of sustainability to stakeholders - how is it addressing their pain points and meeting their goals. The winning narrative is about creating value, cost-savings and smarter systems.

At the Regen House and Food Tank events, another theme emerged: sustainability as an act of reconnection - to nature, to community, and to purpose.

During an event hosted by MAD Agriculture and the Fetzer Institute, speakers like Mary Evelyn Tucker, Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin, and Dekila Chungyalpa reminded us that regenerative systems are not only about soil health or biodiversity, but about our collective capacity to reimagine how we relate to the planet. For some, it starts with spiritual awakening or going back to their traditional knowledge and values that emphasize our interconnectedness with the natural world.

Their insights offered a counterbalance to the data-driven sessions: sustainability cannot succeed through science and technology alone - it requires empathy, harmony, and respect for nature.

This human layer is increasingly vital for organizations and individuals navigating climate anxiety, stakeholder skepticism, and change fatigue. As we heard repeatedly during the week, authentic communication rooted in shared values can rebuild the trust necessary for long-term transformation.

This human layer is increasingly vital for organizations and individuals navigating climate anxiety, stakeholder skepticism, and change fatigue. As we heard repeatedly during the week, authentic communication rooted in shared values can rebuild the trust necessary for long-term transformation.

If one thread ran through every conversation during Climate Week, it was this: communication is the enabler of sustainability progress.

At the FINN Forum, our panels on Communicating Climate Leadership explored how communications and sustainability leaders are aligning brand storytelling with ESG performance. The insights were clear:

• Clarity beats complexity. Speak in plain language, grounded in data and outcomes.
• Integration drives credibility. Link sustainability to the business goals and strategy - not the CSR report.
• Collaboration is competitive advantage. In sustainability, progress is amplified through partnership.
• Internal storytelling matters. When employees believe the mission, transformation accelerates.

The companies setting the pace are those who see sustainability as a strategic narrative - one that drives innovation, de-risks the business, and unites internal and external stakeholders around a shared goal.

At FINN, we see effective communication not as the final step in a sustainability strategy, but as the mechanism that turns insight into influence - transforming awareness into action across audiences.

Across every sector - energy, finance, food, and travel - the discussion returned to economics. Whether it was discussions around carbon markets or the FINN Sustainable Travel roundtable, the imperative is to align purpose with profitability.

Sustainability is no longer about philanthropy or compliance; it's a strategic lever for value creation. Organizations that lead are reframing sustainability as a growth narrative - about efficiency, innovation, and long-term competitiveness.

Investors are rewarding companies that link sustainability outcomes directly to business performance indicators - from reduced risk and cost savings to talent retention and brand trust.

But the storytelling must match the sophistication of the strategies. That's where communications professionals have a critical role to play: translating complex climate change data into accessible, compelling, and actionable stories.

But storytelling must match the sophistication of the strategies. Communicators now play a critical role in translating complex climate data into accessible, actionable stories that resonate with stakeholders and inspire change.

With Climate Week NYC and UNGA behind us, one truth stands out: sustainability is now a measure of leadership.

The challenges are complex - economic headwinds, political shifts, and climate uncertainty - but so too are the opportunities. Companies that can align their ambition with authenticity, their metrics with meaning, and their communication with community will define the next era of impact.

At FINN Partners, we believe that storytelling is strategy - and that credible, human-centered communication is essential to building the trust and momentum needed for lasting change. As we look ahead to COP30 and beyond, our role is clear: to help organizations not only communicate sustainability, but live it, measure it, and lead through it.

About the Author

Brianne Chai-Onn is a Senior Partner and Head of Sustainability for the CSR and Social Impact Practice at FINN Partners, leading global initiatives that help organizations integrate purpose, performance, and communication to advance a more sustainable and equitable future.

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POSTED BY: Brianne Chai-Onn