A world in balance 2024: Accelerating sustainability amidst geopolitical challenges

To understand the progress being made, the Capgemini Research Institute conducted an extensive survey involving 2,152 executives from 727 organizations with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion across 13 countries worldwide. They also surveyed 6,500 consumers from the same 13 countries to gain a comprehensive view of sustainability from both organizational and consumer perspectives.

The results of this survey have been collected in the third edition of our A world in balance series. By comparing this data with previous years’ surveys, we examine the progress organizations have made in environmental and social sustainability over the past three years and identify the challenges they face.

A world in balance 2024: Accelerating sustainability amidst geopolitical challenges highlights the strides made in areas such as circularity, sustainable design, measurement and data sharing, water stewardship, biodiversity, social sustainability, and sustainability education and training. Despite these advancements, challenges remain, particularly in addressing Scope 3 emissions and effectively engaging consumers.

The report has found that regulations have driven sustainability efforts and accelerated measurement and tracking capabilities. However, many organizations are still unprepared for upcoming directives like the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).