Business sustainability is a growing priority in 2026, as ESG reporting and regulatory compliance become central to how businesses operate. From reducing carbon emissions to managing sustainable business spend, companies are under increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable progress backed by reliable data.
This shift is reflected across the market. According to Deloitte, 83% of business leaders increased their sustainability investments in the last year, signalling a move from long-term ambition to immediate action.
In this guide, we cover why business sustainability matters, the key trends to watch, and where practical change can make the biggest difference.
The importance of business sustainability
Before we look at the sustainable practices growing in popularity, let’s first cover exactly why sustainability matters in a business sense. Fundamentally, sustainability is crucial for businesses looking for long-term success, balancing profit with responsibility and social accountability, all of which improves your reputation and compliance. But, let’s look into the different aspects in more detail:
Environmental responsibility
Holding your business accountable for its environmental impact helps you spot where practical changes can reduce emissions and waste. This works best when responsibility is shared across teams and made an everyday task, rather than scramble before an audit is due.
Brand loyalty
Ethical and sustainable choices show people that you genuinely care. And, it’s not just customers and investors, but your people too. Having sustainable practices in place creates a workplace culture that aligns with their values, improving retention and recruitment. People want their company to represent them and their beliefs after all.
Compliance with legislation
With environmental regulation increasing across the UK, being proactive helps you avoid last-minute pressure and penalties. With regulators like the CMA, FCA, and ASA now able to issue significant penalties for greenwashing, sustainability claims must be accurate, consistent, and supported by reliable data.
Investor attraction
Strong environmental, social, and governance practices make you more attractive to investors and build confidence with existing ones. Transparent reporting and realistic targets enhance your credibility and build trust with potential funders or stakeholders.
Long-term viability
Business sustainability is an ongoing process, not a one-off task. Embedding it into day-to-day operations puts you in a stronger position to adapt to new expectations and changes over time, especially when progress is reviewed and adjusted regularly.
Trends to look out for 2026
As sustainability becomes embedded into everyday operations, several key trends are shaping how businesses approach it in 2026.
AI-led decision making
The use of AI is becoming a key part of business sustainability; helping businesses to utilise high-level reporting, helping you act on sustainability insights rather than simply document them.
Over 80% of companies already use AI to reduce carbon emissions, monitor sustainability metrics, and support reporting, with a further 16% planning to adopt it in the next year. And for good reason. By identifying patterns, risks, and inefficiencies, AI helps turn sustainability data into meaningful action—not just compliance.
Beyond reporting, AI is also enabling innovation. Around 52% of those businesses are planning to use AI to develop more sustainable products and services, helping sustainability become part of the everyday. By encouraging looking at how your resources are used—or could be better used—you can make your environmental goals central to operational decisions, all with AI.
Scrutiny around ESG
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) used to be something only large businesses needed to worry about. But, in 2026, that’s changed. Now, no matter your size, you need to be able to show how you operate responsibly—with the data to back you up.
Customers, investors, partners, and even employees want clarity on how businesses treat people, manage resources, and make decisions. What was once a way of demonstrating compliance is now a way to build credibility; giving assurance that you not just recognise the need for sustainability, but that it’s ingrained in every aspect of your operations from how you spend money to what expenses you approve.
For example, look at ESG-related travel. In our expense trends report, we found that the businesses within our data set logged enough journeys to equal an estimated 5,175 tonnes of CO2 (or 1,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools if you prefer to visualise).
With £28.5m spend on mileage alone, it’s time to align spend with sustainability goals, taking the time to track carbon impact through energy and carbon reporting with the same importance as spend.
Regulatory changes
Regulations surrounding business sustainability are continuing to tighten, especially in the UK and EU. One of the biggest changes is the shift from Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) to include UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS); a development that brings a broader framework to sustainability.
Coming into place at the start of this business year, the changes will include:
- Reporting scope: SRS will go beyond reporting on energy and carbon emissions. It will now require the integration of sustainability and financial reporting, improved corporate governance, plans for carbon reduction, and full Scope 3 emissions reporting.
- Global alignment: Built on ISSB’s IFRS S1 and S2 standards, UK SRS maintains consistency with international best practice, while adding UK-specific requirements.
While UK SRS applies to larger businesses (with a turnover of £54 million, balance sheets of over £27 million, and more than 250 employees), its principles are shaping expectations across the wider market.
In basic terms, businesses can no longer rely on high-level estimates or infrequent assessments of emissions. Regulators now expect sustainability data to be collected, maintained, and reviewed to the same degree as your financial data, with the ability to demonstrate accuracy and progress when required. So having reliable reporting processes will be your biggest ally for being better prepared for audits and reducing regulatory risk.
Practical steps to prepare
Approaching rising sustainability scrutiny starts with greater control over every day spend. Here are some practical steps you can implement now to help towards your sustainability goals:
1. Prepare sustainability data to regulatory standards
Where reporting is required, businesses must be able to produce audit-ready ESG data. This includes meeting UK Sustainability Reporting Standards, submitting Sustainability Disclosure Requirements where applicable, and reporting Scope 3 emissions for larger organisations. Even where formal reporting is not mandatory, adopting these standards early improves readiness and reduces future risk.
2. Strengthen governance at the point of spend
Everyday spending decisions have a cumulative impact on environmental performance. Clear policies, supported by consistent spend controls, help to make sure that sustainability requirements are applied the moment decisions are made—rather than relying on manual checks or (potentially inaccurate) retrospective reviews.
3. Reduce reliance on estimates and manual processes
Heavy use of assumptions, spreadsheets, and manual data handling increases exposure to error and scrutiny. More reliable, automated data capture improves reporting accuracy and gives businesses greater confidence when responding to audits or regulatory review.
4. Embed sustainability into normal working practices
Sustainability is most effective when it forms part of everyday activity. Building environmental considerations into expense policies, approval workflows, and spending processes supports responsible behaviour without adding complexity for employees.
Making sustainability a part of everyday spend with Capture Expense
As expectations around business sustainability increase—from regulators, investors, customers, and employees—organisations need practical ways to turn sustainability goals into measurable progress. Increasingly, that progress is driven by how everyday spending decisions are made, tracked, and reviewed.
And that’s where Capture Expense comes in. We’re equipped with all you need to bring business sustainability into everyday practices—supporting informed decisions today, while preparing for what changes come next.
Want to know more? Book a demo to find out how we can help you towards a more sustainable 2026.
Find out more about Capture Expense
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