At the start of this decade, companies across industries set out bold sustainability goals for 2030, inspired by optimism and driven by global momentum towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Five years on, the landscape looks very different.
Economic turbulence, geopolitical shifts, supply chain disruption and the rise of resource-intensive AI have tested the limits of those early ambitions. Salterbaxter’s latest research examines how companies are responding at this halfway point — revealing not collapse, but course correction.
Our analysis of 24 leading global companies across six high-impact sectors explores where 2030 targets have been strengthened, revised, or quietly dropped, and how those changes are being communicated. The findings expose a tension between ambition and reality: over half of companies have weakened or abandoned at least one target, yet a quarter have enhanced theirs, signalling that determination persists even under pressure.
The report uncovers three defining shifts shaping sustainability today: first, that reputation dictates how rollbacks are received; second, that changing world conditions demand evolving targets; and third, that the language used to describe those shifts determines whether trust is won or lost.
The halfway point offers an opportunity for reflection — and recalibration. It’s no longer about who made the biggest pledge, but who communicates honestly, acknowledges complexity, and continues to push forward with credibility and conviction.
Download the full report to explore:
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How 2030 sustainability targets have evolved across six key sectors
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Why communication strategy now defines credibility
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The five principles companies should adopt to sustain trust through uncertainty