An estimated $17 trillion (£12.6 trillion) has been invested in sustainable technologies over the past decade by private companies and governments.
Analysis by global management consulting firm Bain & Company has found sustainability investment totalled $2.4 trillion in just 2025 alone, a record high. Around 90% of this investment directed towards green energy, building and mobility.
But progress on sustainability investment has been uneven with transitions entering an ‘age of divergence’ that could continue to accelerate.
Sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and materials received less than 10% of investment even though they collectively account for 37% of greenhouse gas emissions.
The report also found that only solar, batteries and EVs have exceeded forecasts made ten years ago while 29 technologies feel short of expectations.
Jean-Charles van den Branden, Global Head of Sustainability suggests that companies need to have a better understanding of divergence to enable green technology to reach its full potential.
He said: “CEOs will need to understand how to leverage divergence as a source of competitive advantage, converge priorities across the firm to harness AI for its full sustainability benefits and ask the right questions about climate resilience.”
The study noted 85% of consumers across the US, UK, Italy, Brazil and Indonesia say they are concerned about environmental sustainability, which has risen from 79% last year.
Elsewhere, 83% of respondents said they had adopted at least three sustainable lifestyle habits compared to 73% in 2023. Consumers also say they are willing to pay an average of 18% more for ‘greener’ products.
Bain say that the report challenges that the sustainability transition is broadly retreating and that it is advancing uniformly. Instead investment, technology, corporate action and consumer behaviour are moving at different speeds.
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