ISEP: Inside the Business Sustainability Landscape in 2025
The Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals (ISEP) is a global membership body that sets standards for professionals in the field of sustainability.
Its annual State of the Sustainability Profession survey for 2025 explores salaries and career progression, alongside how sustainability leaders are making changes happen.
Adam Elman, Director of Sustainability EMEA at Google, said on LinkedIn: “A key takeaway, especially in these challenging times, is the robust investment in sustainability: nearly half of organisations increased their sustainability budgets, and less than 2% reported cuts, indicating that sustainability is increasingly viewed not as a nice to have, but as business-critical."
A focus on people
The ISEP survey found that those who work for larger organisations earn £15k-20k (US$20k-26k) more annually than those working for smaller businesses.
However, the gender pay gap has widened to 14.7%, up from 8.75% in 2022, making it closer to figures found in 2018.
Looking to the future, the survey report says that the profession is now shifting from a compliance and waste management focus towards more complex and strategic roles.
The report says that the working world is demanding broader skill sets, like systems thinking, business acumen and the ability to engage at leadership level.
How have sustainability professions changed?
More than 70% of sustainability professionals surveyed cover waste management, climate change mitigation and energy efficiency; these were driven by regulations and cost control.
Social issues like DEI, human rights and social impact are amongst the least covered topics in a professional environment.
Despite economic pressures, more than half of respondents reported an increase in their sustainability budgets, with just 2.9% reporting a reduction.
A quarter of organisations integrate training and personal development with sustainability.
More than 70% of organisations report to measure their greenhouse gas emissions, with 68% measuring Scope 3 emissions.
Claire Atkins Morris, FISEP Sustainability Director at Sodexo, says in the report: “The sustainability profession has evolved significantly, requiring a broader skillset than its initial focus on compliance and waste management.
“Leaders must now navigate complex political landscapes, balance organisational values with market demands and possess strong business acumen.”
Are CEOs focussed on sustainability?
More than half of respondents said their CEO is a leading visible champion or proactively supportive of sustainability, which correlated with many companies having larger emissions reductions.
Just under half of respondents are now reporting sustainability functions to the board of CEO.
Around 15% of organisations having sustainability explicitly integrated into management decision-making.
Leigh Broadhurst, Environment and Sustainable Development Lead at SUEZ UK, says in the report: “SUEZ has embedded a triple bottom line approach across its business.
“This means there’s dialogue around decision-making for what contributes towards our triple bottom line, as it’s not always going to be 33% equal weighting across people, planet, profit, the world doesn’t work like that, but it ensures all projects contribute appropriately to our strategic goals.”
