The Visionary CEO’s Guide to Sustainability
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At a Glance
This article is part of Bain's 2025 CEO Sustainability Guide There have been plenty of pessimistic headlines about sustainability this past year: sustainability dropping on the CEO agenda; governments pulling back on subsidies; public backlash against aspects of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). One could expect this talk to be reflected in action, especially by frontline salespeople, and for companies to postpone, or at least reduce, their efforts to sell sustainable products. Quite the contrary. Our survey of more than 750 business-to-business (B2B) automotive, packaging, chemicals, machinery, metals, and construction and building products companies operating around the world finds sustainability firmly on the commercial agenda. The reason for this “do-say gap” for companies continuing to act even as they speak less about sustainability is the business value they get from it. Frontline salespeople—those with direct exposure to the performance of sustainable products—continue to prioritize sustainability. This is particularly true among companies with year-over-year revenue growth greater than that of their peers. By several criteria, these leaders are much better at leveraging sustainable products to drive the top line than laggards, companies with revenue growth less than that of their peers. Ninety percent of leaders expect sustainability to have a positive impact on their business over the next three years compared with 60% of laggards (see Figure 1). Leaders in all regions, even those where governments have stepped back, see sustainability as a catalyst for positive business impact. The gap between leaders and laggards is most pronounced in the Americas and India while the difference is smaller in Europe, where there is regulatory support.
Figure 1
Nevertheless, misperceptions about sustainability continue to hold companies back. Debunking these myths is critical to optimizing B2B sales organizations. Myth: Sustainability is flatlining. Reality: Companies are increasingly pragmatic, and sustainability has tangible commercial momentum. Revenue growth leaders prioritize selling sustainable products because their buyers reward them for it. Among customers surveyed, half already buy more from their more sustainable suppliers, and nearly 70% plan to accelerate those purchases over the next three years (see Figure 2). While the number of companies de-listing suppliers that don’t meet sustainability criteria has decreased since our last survey, half expect to stop working with those suppliers over the next three years. Buyers say that by 2028, sustainability will be the second-most important purchasing criterion—just after quality. While buyers want sustainability, their focus has shifted. They are now more concerned with the sustainability of a supplier’s product offering—that is, the products and services they are buying—than the sustainability of a supplier’s operations. Over the next three years, customers we surveyed expect the “sustainability of offers” to move from their fourth purchasing criteria to their second, leapfrogging “price” and “service levels” (“quality” will continue to be No. 1). While they expect to be increasingly focused on the sustainability of products and services they are buying, their focus on the sustainability of suppliers’ operations is expected to hold steady at No. 5—just ahead of “reputation, scale, and resilience.” It's a sign that companies are becoming more pragmatic, focusing on how sustainability directly influences their business and can be a source of differentiation with their own customers. As this continues, sellers need to adjust and prepare for a meaningful volume shift toward more sustainable offerings.
Figure 2
Myth: Sustainability is a cost center. Reality: Companies with the strongest revenue growth are also the most successful at selling through sustainability. Leading companies see sustainability not as philanthropy or compliance but as good business. While revenue laggards surveyed still see sustainability as a compliance cost, 60% to 70% of high-growth companies expect sustainable offerings to help them differentiate, future-proof their business, and grow their revenue (see Figure 3). Growth leaders are already benefiting from the shift in customer purchasing priorities, with strong revenue growth contributions from sustainable products across B2B sectors and the potential to capture additional market share as the importance of sustainable offerings continues to rise. Price premiums are another source of revenue growth. More than 80% of B2B buyers report paying a premium in their most recent purchase of a sustainable product. One in three is willing to pay more than 5% extra today, and more than 60% say that they will be willing to pay that in three years.
Figure 3
Myth: Selling sustainable products is just like selling anything else. Reality: It demands a different mindset, skills, and tools. Effectively selling sustainability starts with better understanding what customers truly value, yet many sellers struggle with this. Only 34% believe that they have significant knowledge of their customers’ sustainability needs. Sellers also misunderstand their customers’ sustainability priorities. They overestimate how much customers care about safety, and they underestimate the importance to customers of reducing Scope 3 emissions—that is, those emissions directly embedded in the products they buy (see Figure 4). Furthermore, sellers too often have a poor grasp of the sustainability benefits of their own offerings: 59% of suppliers believe that their salesforce does not understand how their sustainable products outperform conventional options in terms of carbon and associated economic benefits for customers.
Figure 4
Buyers notice. Only half of them say that the products they are pitched adequately support their sustainability goals. Sometimes, that’s a product issue; other times, sales teams are targeting the wrong customers. After struggling to sell its sustainable material, a chemicals company broadened its prospecting, adding more than 100 relevant segments outside its traditional market. Using AI, the company developed a way to identify high-potential customers in high-potential segments with characteristics indicating that they might pay a premium for sustainability. The company then customized its messaging and sales plays for those specific targets. Growth leaders outperform laggards on a number of critical sales capabilities. These include talent, marketing, and incentives that equip their teams to lead consultative, sustainability-focused conversations (see Figure 5).
Figure 5
What should executives do now?Clear best practices are emerging for turning sustainability into commercial value. Growth leaders are quickly mastering how to weave sustainability into their sales approach, and it’s giving them a meaningful competitive edge (see Figure 6).
Figure 6
Companies that build their sustainability toolkit to grow will be well positioned to capture the upside. They are focusing on building four capabilities. Fully embed sustainability into customer segmentation. At a minimum, every company must understand its customers’ sustainability priorities, targets, and progress. This includes their carbon and circularity ambitions as well as other business-specific goals, such as biodiversity and water-use reduction. These priorities must then be combined with traditional customer segmentation to create clear customer priorities. Leaders go further, pulling together external and internal data on customers’ sustainability priorities and performance—including how their customers market their own sustainable offerings—then applying AI analysis to identify critical segments and building dynamic customer profiles that boost commercial success. Make sustainability a core selling point alongside performance and cost. At a minimum, spell out how your sustainable offerings meet customers’ needs better than traditional offerings would. Leaders articulate a clear business case that quantifies the sustainability benefits of their products with the same rigor as their performance and cost. This includes illustrating how their products help customers achieve their own sustainable goals, such as meeting regulations, enhancing their consumer claims, and achieving their own corporate targets. Power up the sales team with the right tools and incentives. At a minimum, educate your teams on how to start the sustainability conversation with customers, on what your sustainable offerings are, and on how to articulate the sustainability key performance indicators of your products. Leaders deploy AI and digital tools to train the salesforce on sustainability basics and company offerings, on how to build differentiated sales plays for customers with high sustainability commitments, and generally make it easy for the salesforce to articulate the business case for customers. Capture value from all sources. At a minimum, companies should use sustainable offerings to build better customer relations, improve customer retention, and preserve their price point. Leaders, however, capture all sources of value. They use sustainability to gain share vs. the competition, sell to more attractive customer segments, and earn a price premium for a superior product. Their prices reflect the full value their products offer customers—for example, the customer’s internal carbon price. As sustainability is integrated into the way buying decisions are made, commercial models must evolve. Leading companies recognize this shift. They treat sustainability not just as a compliance imperative but as a lever for growth and differentiation. They’re investing with intent—in data, capabilities, and commercial talent—to compete where it counts. By putting sustainability at the heart of their go-to-market strategy, they’re positioning themselves to lead in a fundamentally changing marketplace. Read our 2025 CEO Sustainability GuideMore from the report |