Nearly all companies and the vast majority of institutional investors see growth and commercial opportunities from the climate transition, with views on sustainability-related investments and initiatives increasingly driven by financial and strategic considerations, according to a new survey released by HSBC.
For the report, HSBC commissioned FTI consulting to conduct two surveys, which collected responses from more than 1,650 senior business decision makers across companies in 12 global markets, and 500 global institutional investors.
The survey found that companies’ views on sustainability have shifted from risk mitigation to growth and value creation, with 95% of business leaders indicating that they believe that the climate transition offers a commercial opportunity for their company, including 37% who describe it as “a key strategic area of focus.”
According to HSBC, the survey suggests that corporate views on sustainability initiatives may be shifting from towards recognizing sustainability as a strategic factor, rather than primarily an environmental obligation, with 99% of business leaders agreeing that climate transition will be “extremely” or “very” important in supporting companies’ competitive advantage over the next three years, and 72% ranking business resilience as a leading benefit of their climate transition strategies.
Similarly, business leaders also viewed climate inaction as a source of financial and strategic risk, with operational disruption or higher costs emerging as the most cited consequence of missing climate targets (at 39%), followed by reputation damage (35%), and loss of investor confidence or financing challenges (34%).
The report found that corporate views towards sustainability and climate transition were closely aligned with investor sentiments, with 96% of investors reporting that climate and environmental issues will be important to their organization’s investment strategy within the next three years, and with financial and strategic as key factors, with long-term financial performance enhancement (47%) and risk management (44%) emerging as the top cited drivers for integrating climate and environmental factors into investment strategies. Similarly, 79% of investors identified a positive correlation between sustainability integration and long-term financial performance.
The surveys also found indications of increased sustainability-related investments by both groups, with 73% of investors reporting an increase in assets aligned with sustainable investment criteria over the past year, and the proportion of companies planning to allocate at least 10% of capex to climate initiatives expected to more than double from 14% currently to 29% within three years.
The report also found key roles for sustainable finance and climate technologies in companies’ transition strategies.
According to the survey, 96% of companies reported that they currently use, or plan to use sustainable finance products within the next three years, with green and sustainable trade finance as the most cited instrument at 46%, followed by sustainability-linked loans at 40%, green bonds at 39%, as well as transition finance at 37% and green loans at 35%.
90% of business leaders also said that they are now integrating climate technology into their transition strategies, including 44% that have implemented renewable energy procurement, 44% with energy efficiency improvements, and 40% using climate data and analytics systems.
While climate tech is increasingly a focus for businesses, however, 95% of respondents also said that they find insufficient market solutions available. Business leaders reported that key solutions needed to support their climate transitions included affordable low-carbon energy technologies (39%), energy efficiency technologies for operations (37%), scalable carbon capture, utilization and storage (37%), and climate data, monitoring and analytics tools (36%), while 34% also cited a need for technologies to decarbonize heavy industries.
Natalie Blyth, Global Head of Sustainable Finance & Transition at HSBC, said:
“In 2025, sustainability strategy became business strategy: defining value creation, competitive advantage and risk management. Our survey tells us 95% of corporates view sustainability as a commercial opportunity, and for 99% it’s expected to drive differentiated competitive advantage over the next three years. This critical pivot is why we’ve launched our new ambitious strategy to support our clients with their transition.”
Click here to access the survey.
