Despite a shift in the prevailing narrative around corporate sustainability and the revising of certain climate targets in recent years, sustainability remains a priority for organisations with a long-term strategic focus, and those obligated to comply with deepening regulations. Meanwhile, the global energy transition continues to gather pace.
At Criticaleye’s 2026 Sustainability Forum, the realities on the ground when it comes to corporate sustainability action and progress towards the energy transition were contrasted with the political narratives prompted by Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2025.
Dimitri Zhengelis, Economist at the University of Cambridge and Independent Economics, cut an optimistic tone, referencing recent data: “In March, Europe recorded its strongest month for electric vehicle (EV) sales on record – the fastest increasing growth across the world. This comes on the back of a 20 percent global growth in EV sales last year, which was considered a bad year for EVs.”
He went on to say: “[C]ountries across the world are now implementing new renewable policies to counter the issues we're seeing in the [Persian] Gulf. Renewable energy is clearly the most cost competitive way to generate electricity worldwide. The conflict has also highlighted the security risks as well.”
Although EV sales figures and the falling costs of renewables show that clear progress is being made in the energy transition, it was acknowledged that fossil fuels will still play a role in the future energy mix.
John Armstrong, CEO of the British Pipeline Agency, said: “Between now and 2050, $26 trillion will be spent globally on oil and gas infrastructure, so it isn't going away. What matters now is that we look to use those hydrocarbons only in hard to abate sectors and let more sustainable technologies flourish where they have the greatest impact.”
Drawing on themes from his book, The Future of Energy, John explained: “The narrative often sits with ‘horns’ and ‘halos’ around different technologies, but actually it's a messy mix. It's complicated, and I hope that if we can use simple language and the numbers around the transition, we can get into a realistic space which recognises this ‘messy mix’…”
Clearly, businesses need to make difficult decisions and compromises on their own individual journeys to a more sustainable future, while also ensuring they meet a rising tide of regulation – particularly those operating in Europe under the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive).
Karen Fawcett, a NED at Aegon and Board Mentor with Criticaleye, argued that Boards will play a significant role in driving through changes, especially in regions where regulation is less embedded. “Firstly, because things are still largely voluntary, there's an enormous amount of management judgement as to how you should push on this and how fast you should do this and the extent,” she said. “There's still quite a lot of leeway on what you can do and what you declare.
“The Board is really where the rubber hits the road. If the Board is not aligned that this stuff matters and doesn't keep asking the questions and keep pushing until we get mandatory regulation, we're going to have this leeway,” Karen continued. “Boards also have to be pragmatic that sometimes some of the commitments were just not realistic or put too much pressure on the supply chains and the business models.”
Sheila Khama, NED at ACWA Power and another Criticaleye Board Mentor, also commented on the role of the Board in developing a sustainability culture within organisations. “The most important thing that the Chair and non-executive directors can do, at a time when we seem to be seeing a lack of unison and consistency, is to be the voice of reason. By that I mean not look to the regulator for answers, but champion the cause themselves. So self-regulate, regardless of where they operate, because I think this offers stability and builds a culture.”
She further stated: “In an era in which we are seeing, especially in the transition to clean energy, a much closer partnership between governments and large companies, my sense is that the Chair has an even greater role to influence governments and speak truth to power in a way that is helpful to industry…”
This point seems ever more pertinent given President Trump’s recent policy action removing tax credits and subsidies for the renewable and EV industries in the US. However, Dimitri said: “Even last year when Trump introduced his more restrictive policies, renewables supplied the bulk of America's electricity generation investment. It's just too late to stop this train. And don't forget, America is less than a fifth of the world market. The other 80 percent is proceeding not only at pace, but is seeing America's sluggishness as a huge opportunity to steal a march.”
A case in point to this is the record-breaking recent growth in China’s solar PV industry, as the nation added nearly 370GW of new capacity in 2025, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This resembled a 13 percent increase on its installations in 2024 and, when combined with wind energy, China accounted for over 60 percent of global renewables growth last year.
If business leaders around the world can hold their nerve and continue driving progress towards sustainability goals, or – better still – influence the thinking of politicians around the subject, then the rewards are enormous.
“Taking a position of strategic leadership is something that I think is more important, from a commercial perspective, than buying the narratives of Donald Trump or any other particular vested interest and lobby group,” Dimitri concluded.
