WEF: The Sustainability Developments at Davos 2025

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2025 Annual Meeting in Davos took place from January 20 to 24 under the theme of ‘Collaboration for the Intelligent Age’.

This inevitably brought about conversations on AI, digitalisation and the energy transition. 

Its programme focussed on five thematic priorities:

• Rebuilding trust
• Reimagining growth
• Investing in people
• Safeguarding the planet
• Industries in the intelligent age 

Sustainability played a role in conversations across these themes. 

“I am more positive now than I was a week ago,” says Angela Hultberg, Global Sustainability Director at Kearney. 

“I fully expected sustainability topics to be set aside, but this was not the case.”

Hein Schumacher, CEO at Unilever, shared on social media: “I leave Davos feeling positive about the opportunities we have for collaboration, technology and systemic change to unlock new opportunities and growth - and help scale the solutions we need to overcome our biggest sustainability challenges.

“I am a strong believer that AI will have a positive impact in helping to get that done.”

Sustainability in global supply chains

Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk, says: “Attending Davos this week highlighted just how critical it is to build resilience in global supply chains. Solving challenges at scale demands meaningful action, collaboration and solutions that deliver real impact.

“Every discussion brought valuable perspectives, from strengthening partnerships and driving economic growth to advancing sustainability in logistics. While each country, partner and customer has unique priorities – whether modernising port infrastructure, improving connectivity or addressing environmental challenges. 

“What unites us is the shared commitment to progress that benefits industries, nations and communities alike.”

Angela explains: “The path to becoming sustainable is really to reengineer the entire value chain. 

“Regionalisation, dual supply chains, resilience and modernisation will all be necessary, not only for sustainability purposes, but to stay competitive at all.”

How technology can impact sustainability

Christian Bruch, CEO at Siemens Energy, says: “Despite diverging viewpoints and no shortage of uncertainties, I remain optimistic. 

“The World Economic Forum reminds us of the power of collaboration and forward-thinking, demonstrating how working together can shape the upcoming Intelligent Age into one that is not only smarter but also more energy-efficient.”

Morten Wierod, CEO at ABB, explains: “The technologies to address the energy challenge are here—we just need to act now. 

“Industries everywhere are pushing to run cleaner: boost energy efficiency, embrace electrification and plug in more renewables. But electrifying everything means building the infrastructure to support it. 

“Grids are the backbone of this transition, and to meet the demand by 2040, we’ll need to expand the global grid’s capacity by 100%. The clock is ticking.”

Whilst clean energy is a topic on everyone’s agenda, it’s not the only technology that could make a difference to sustainability. 

“AI is getting real,” Morten says. “It’s transforming industries today. 

“From maritime and logistics to automotive and recycling, AI is helping businesses run leaner and cleaner. With over a decade of delivering AI-enabled technologies, we’ve seen first-hand how AI can create real, measurable value for our customers worldwide.

“Let’s not forget that transitions and technologies are ultimately for people. Our focus is on ensuring everyone can keep up with these changes—empowering them to thrive not just in our organisations, but also in our communities.”

Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer at Kering, says: “Many of the emerging technologies are quite promising for sustainability progress as a whole. 

“They will especially help tackle some of the challenges in our sector and support the acceleration of sustainable innovation. Creativity can be augmented through new experimentation and the future holds great promise in this space.” 

Collaboration for sustainability

Marie-Claire explains: “The roles of collaborative partnerships and coalitions are important here – defining shared goals, exchanging best practices, leveraging unique strengths and influencing economies of scale can fill the gap between ideas and measurable action. 

Jim Andrew, Chief Sustainability Officer at PepsiCo, says: “The themes of the week have been action and collaboration – how do we move faster and move together to drive progress. 

“I’m optimistic and excited for what’s ahead.”

Chris Leong, Chief Sustainability Officer at Schneider Electric, says: “Together, we possess the power to turn bold ideas into meaningful actions, creating impactful solutions that resonate with all for generations to come.

“By harnessing digital solutions, automation and electrification, together we journey towards a smarter, more efficient and resilient world.”

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