How CEOs can Move from Aspiration to Measurable Outcomes

Sustainability messaging is undergoing a fundamental transformation at the C-suite level. As chief executive officers (CEOs) move beyond aspirational statements towards measurable business outcomes, marketing and communications strategies must evolve in tandem to reflect this new reality.

According to Bain & Company, sustainability discussions peaked in corporate priority conversations during 2021-2022 before declining as execution challenges became apparent.

However, recent data indicates this downturn is stabilising, with sustainability regaining strategic relevance through a more pragmatic lens.

The debate now centres on practical execution areas, including electric vehicles, net zero commitments and global supply chain transformation.

This shift presents both challenges and opportunities for chief marketing officers (CMOs) tasked with articulating their organisation's sustainability positioning while maintaining credibility with increasingly sophisticated stakeholder audiences who demand transparency and verifiable progress.

The evolving messaging landscape

Bain's analysis reveals a widening "do-say gap" among corporate leaders: CEOs are discussing sustainability less frequently but continuing to implement meaningful initiatives.

The consultancy examined more than 35,000 statements from 150 leading companies' chief executives in 2018, 2022 and 2024 to identify emerging patterns.

The research found that in 2018, the majority of CEO commentary focused on compliance obligations and societal benefits.

Today's executives are pivoting towards business value propositions that connect sustainability with operational realities such as costs, customer requirements, commercial strategies and capital allocation decisions.

This evolution from standalone objective to integrated business lens carries significant implications for how organisations frame their sustainability narratives across customer touchpoints, investor relations and public communications channels.

"After the initial years of bold ambitions and target setting, CEOs took a reality check on their sustainability agenda in 2025," said Jean-Charles van den Branden, Senior Partner and Global Sustainability Practice Leader at Bain & Company, in a company statement.

"Today, CEOs might speak less about sustainability but what they lack in words, they make up in action, a phenomenon we call the do-say gap."

Jean-Charles explained that organisations are identifying profitable decarbonisation levers to power their net zero journeys, noting that success requires companies to "accelerate what already works, anticipate disruptions and build robustness."

Customer expectations driving strategic positioning

Understanding the divergence between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) customer expectations could prove critical for marketing leaders developing targeted sustainability messaging strategies.

Bain's surveys indicate growing numbers of B2B buyers are actively sourcing sustainable suppliers, embedding environmental criteria directly into procurement decisions.

This trend suggests sustainability credentials are increasingly becoming table stakes for maintaining enterprise customer relationships rather than differentiating factors.

Meanwhile, B2C consumers demonstrate deep concern for sustainability issues and reward companies that deliver innovative, affordable and sustainable products.

This consumer segment expects organisations to solve the perceived trade-off between environmental responsibility and value, creating messaging challenges for brands attempting to communicate complex sustainability initiatives without appearing to greenwash or compromise on accessibility.

Jean-Charles noted that "companies that act sustainably do so because there are tangible returns," pointing to rising corporate use of artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver sustainable impact as evidence of the business case evolution.

For CMOs, these dynamics necessitate segmented communication approaches that address distinct audience expectations while maintaining coherent brand positioning across channels and markets.

Strategic implications for market leadership

The rapid scaling of electric vehicle adoption, particularly in China, illustrates how sustainability transitions create competitive repositioning opportunities.

China's industrial policy focus on self-reliance and green development, reinforced through the Made in China 2025 mandate, has accelerated battery technology advancement and cost reduction beyond initial market expectations.

National companies including CATL and BYD scaled operations rapidly, securing access to critical raw material supplies and refining capacity.

China now refines 70% of global battery-grade lithium and 90% of battery-grade graphite, demonstrating how sustainability progress connects tightly to upstream input control and manufacturing scale rather than solely end-use adoption.

This concentration of strategic capabilities highlights potential supply chain vulnerabilities for organisations dependent on these materials, while simultaneously creating market entry barriers that could reshape competitive dynamics across electrification-dependent sectors.

Despite progress on direct emissions, many companies remain behind on Scope 3 targets, which are heavily influenced by supply chain partners.

Bain's analysis of energy executives shows a growing proportion now expect net zero achievement later than previously anticipated, creating tension between supplier timelines and customer commitments that marketing teams must navigate carefully.

The broader sustainability landscape is being shaped by diverging policy approaches, accelerating technologies and shifting customer expectations.

Some regions are easing regulatory pressure while others deploy industrial policy to accelerate transition-focused sectors and secure strategic advantages.

Technologies such as batteries are approaching cost and scale inflection points, particularly in EV markets where adoption has been driven by falling costs and improved infrastructure.

In this environment, organisations are increasingly focused on managing uncertainty across supply chains while balancing ambition with execution reality—a tension that CMOs must address through authentic, evidence-based communications strategies that acknowledge complexity rather than oversimplifying progress narratives.