Eden McCallum sustainability surveys Q3/Q4 2025

Shrinking concern, rising pessimism – but those most committed are still on target

As the debate over environmental sustainability rolls on, the shifting perspectives of business leaders and consumers around the world continue to have an impact on corporate decision making. Both hopeful and more gloomy outlooks can be found. Most agree, however, that action is needed to prevent planetary harm, and that it is possible to make effective interventions.

That is one conclusion to draw from the latest Eden McCallum surveys of business leaders and consumers, carried out in the second half of last year. Over 300 businesses in the US, UK and the Netherlands were asked for their views on environmental sustainability, in particular their concerns about the future, the likelihood of their country achieving net zero targets and their company’s use of environmental sustainability plans. Their responses, which we compared with results from a representative sample of consumers in the UK and Netherlands, reveal a subtly shifting picture in which optimism and pessimism interact and at times are almost in conflict with each other.

“What, me worry?”

Perhaps surprisingly, business leaders’ concern over environmental sustainability has decreased over the past two years. Those describing themselves as “very concerned” has fallen to 29% from 37% in the last quarter of 2023, while today 30% say they are “concerned”, down from 36% two years earlier.

Still, a majority (59%) do declare themselves very concerned or concerned about environmental sustainability. There is less fear in the US, however: there only 24% are very concerned about it and 19% are not concerned at all.

This fall in concern among business leaders is not found to anything like the same extent in the UK, although there has been a slight reduction. UK consumers, however, remain just as concerned as before.

In the Netherlands, concern around environmental sustainability from both business leaders and consumers has dropped by around 10 percentage points.

Country-level net zero

Pessimism among business leaders has grown as far as achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is concerned. Nearly 75% are pessimistic about their country achieving that target by 2050, up from 65% two years ago. In the US, 80% doubt that net zero targets will be hit, but in the Netherlands a smaller number, 64%, feel equally negative.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is those business leaders who are personally concerned about environmental sustainability who are more pessimistic about their country’s ability to achieve net zero targets by the 2050 deadline.

In the UK, overall pessimism amongst business leaders about the country reaching net zero targets stands exactly where it did two years ago – 76% doubt it will happen. In the Netherlands however, pessimism is significantly higher than it was in 2023. Then only 49% doubted the chances of achieving net zero emissions compared with 64% today.

Corporate sustainability plans

Consistent with that pattern of greater scepticism seen in the responses from US businesses, our survey found that the US has a smaller proportion of organisations with environmental sustainability plans with specific, time-bound targets. Overall, our international survey showed that 63% have such plans. But the country breakdowns are revealing. Around 80% of Dutch and UK businesses have sustainability plans, while only 41% of US firms do.

Formal sustainability planning seems to be more important for businesses listed in the public markets than for those in private ownership, and for larger rather than smaller businesses. As many as 78% of public companies have environmental sustainability plans with specific, time-bound targets, while only 57% of privately held companies do. Similarly, 81% of businesses with over 5000 employees have such plans, but medium sized firms (66%) and smaller firms (44%) have not made such a big commitment.

Those who do have a formal sustainability plan have not lost faith in either its purpose or its chances of being achieved. Nearly 70% of respondents with a plan are optimistic about their organisation hitting their environmental targets.

Liann Eden, co-founder of Eden McCallum, points out that “in these demanding and complex times for business it may not be surprising to see sustainability concern softening slightly, and pessimism growing. What is encouraging is that those who made specific commitments remain confident of hitting their targets.”

Click here for the full survey results.

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