Sustainability Services Ecosystem Mapping

Sustainability and COP26 are on everyone’s mind, but sustainability services remains the most important ecosystem that most have never heard of. It will be beyond critical in helping businesses and governments meet the sustainability goals they’re failing to reach. The ecosystem is not prepared for the scale of sustainability change needed right now. It’s developing, but there’s so much work still to do. The sustainability technology and services providers profiled in this report—and those yet to develop their portfolios—have a pivotal role in tackling climate change and addressing all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The ecosystem, however, is fragmented, undefined, and understood by very few.

The world is not on track to meet its most visible sustainability goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. In the absence of rapid, tangible change, the chance of limiting post-industrial global warming to 1.5 (or even 2) degrees is gone. We’ll see more intense and irreversible climate and ecosystem meltdown—what the 2015 Paris Agreement sought to avoid. Significant progress is also lacking across the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals covering the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects of sustainability, such as eliminating modern slavery, securing biodiversity, or achieving true diversity and representation in all forms of organizations.

This lack of progress applies to businesses and governments worldwide—in both their goals and investments. The technology and services industries are no exception; this ecosystem mapping report covers how providers of both are developing new capabilities and embedding sustainability in their existing portfolios, but relative to the scale of change required, it’s not enough.

Watch this HFS Videocast on the HFS Sustainability Services Ecosystem Mapping