The Human Cost of Net Zero: Sustainability Teams Buckling Under Impossible Targets, New Report Finds

LONDON - Oct. 14, 2025 - PRLog -- A new report from consultancy network Leafr finds that sustainability leaders across Europe are reaching breaking point, with only 11% confident they can deliver their organisation's climate and ESG targets.

The True State of Sustainability 2025 draws on insights from 450 sustainability professionals across large and enterprise businesses. Together, their stories reveal a profession under strain and a delivery system that no longer works.

While sustainability has become central to corporate strategy, the people delivering it are overextended and under-resourced.

• 76% say their teams are not adequately funded to meet goals.
• 91% have been asked to take on work beyond their expertise.
• 67% report teams of three or fewer people – nearly half have just one person.
• C-suite buy-in has halved since 2024.
• Only 11% believe they'll hit net zero or wider sustainability targets.

One sustainability lead told Leafr: "Our CSO was demoted from the C- suite level. The Board of Directors is more focused on economic and sales growth while cutting sustainability budget."

Gus Bartholomew, Leafr co-founder, said:

"The data confirms what we hear from our community every day. Sustainability teams cannot deliver net zero on their own. They are under-resourced, pulled in too many directions, and forced into compliance work at the expense of impact. Unless leadership, regulators, and investors align behind a pragmatic model that values environmental outcomes as much as financial ones, targets will remain out of reach."

Nick Valenzia, Leafr co-founder, added:

"The problem is not a lack of ambition: it's a broken delivery model. Boards would never accept financial accounts prepared by unqualified staff, yet they entrust multi-million-pound sustainability strategies to under-trained, overstretched generalists. If we are serious about delivering our commitments we need to match resourcing with rhetoric."

Pathways forward

The True State of Sustainability Report is a wake-up call for businesses, policymakers, investors, and the profession itself. The findings highlight the need for systemic collaboration, regulatory clarity, and smarter use of external expertise and technology.

The full report can be downloaded, here: https://www.leafr.com/the-true-state-of-sustainability-report-2025