Experts say forest products and life sciences are the sectors most likely to navigate the transition to sustainability

The recently released Sustainability Leaders 2024 Survey reveals that while sustainability experts’ perceptions of how well sectors are doing in the sustainability transition have improved over the past few years, only a third or fewer say performance is excellent, even for sectors with the highest ratings. Overall, sustainability experts give mostly poor ratings to all sectors except forest products and life sciences.

While the forest products and life sciences sectors are viewed most positively by experts in managing the transition to sustainability, all seven of the top-rated sectors have seen their sustainability scores improve. The biggest improvements in scores over the past decade were seen in banking/finance, energy services, automotive, and life sciences (all improving by about 10 percentage points in positive ratings). In contrast, the chemicals and mining sectors are either doing the same or slightly worse than they were a decade ago. More than three-quarters of experts say the oil and gas sector is doing poorly on sustainability, while two-thirds say the same for mining.

The GlobeScan/ERM Sustainability Institute Leaders Survey surveys nearly 500 sustainability experts from 65 countries around the world on the priorities and forces shaping the sustainability agenda. The survey examines sustainability leadership in governments, NGOs and companies, and tracks priority issues as well as key recent developments.

What does it mean?

Research shows a mixed picture of sector performance in managing the sustainability transition. There is evidence of positive momentum for sustainability leadership in several sectors that have improved over the past decade, but more needs to be done. Building on this progress and accelerating efforts in sectors that have a critical role to play in the transition, such as mining and oil and gas, is a priority.

For more information on what sustainability experts expect from leading companies, see our Sustainability Leaders 2024 report.

Survey question: Rate how well each of the following industry sectors is doing in the transition to sustainability in your country or region. Use a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means “poor” and 5 means “excellent.”

Source: The 2024 GlobeScan/ERM Sustainability Institute Leaders Survey was conducted among 484 experts representing business, government, NGOs and academia in 65 countries between April and May 2024.