For the past decade, sustainability has been driven by ambition.

Targets, pledges and commitments have multiplied, net zero by 2050, science-based targets, ESG frameworks and transition plans.

As we move towards 2026, one reality is becoming increasingly clear.

Ambition alone is not a strategy. Execution is.

Everyone Has Targets. Few Can Deliver Them.

Most organisations now have sustainability goals.

Far fewer have the operational capability, data maturity and technology infrastructure required to deliver them.

Too often, sustainability strategies fail not because the ambition is flawed, but because execution was never properly designed into the plan.

Without integrated systems, clear ownership and measurable outcomes, targets remain aspirational rather than actionable.

AI Is No Longer Optional

By 2026, AI will no longer be a competitive advantage, it will be a baseline expectation.

If AI is not being used to:

1. optimise energy use and resource efficiency

2. automate and improve ESG reporting

3. model climate, operational and financial risk

then organisations are already falling behind.

Manual processes and fragmented systems create inefficiency, increase risk and limit decision-making at precisely the moment resilience matters most.

Transparency Equals Credibility

Stakeholders no longer accept sustainability claims at face value.

If impact cannot be proven through credible, auditable data, trust erodes quickly with investors, regulators, customers and employees.

Low-quality ESG data is not simply a reporting issue, it is a governance and decision-making failure.

Poor data leads to poor insight, and poor insight leads to decisions that carry real financial and reputational consequences.

Climate Risk Is Business Risk

Climate risk is no longer a theoretical or long-term concern.

It is operational, financial and reputational.

What organisations fail to model today will impact them tomorrow, through disrupted supply chains, stranded assets, regulatory pressure and loss of licence to operate.

Resilient organisations are those that embed climate risk into core business planning, rather than treating it as a standalone sustainability issue.

Technology Does Not Fail. Implementation and Leadership Do.

When sustainability initiatives stall, technology is often blamed.

In reality, failure more commonly stems from a lack of skills and capability, poor change management, unclear governance and ownership, and misalignment between values, incentives and behaviours.

Sustainability is a transformation challenge, and transformation only succeeds when people, process and technology evolve together.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Most sustainability strategies will not fail because they lack ambition.

They will fail because they lack capability.

In 2026, technology and applied innovation will determine which organisations:

1. turn targets into measurable outcomes

2. prove impact with trusted, decision-ready data

3. build resilience rather than increasing risk through complexity

From Ambition to Execution

Sustainability is no longer about promises or reassurance.

It is about execution at scale.

XPS helps organisations turn sustainability ambition into real-world impact, grounded in operational strategy, robust data and enabling technology.

The question is no longer what your targets are.

Is your sustainability strategy built for execution in 2026, or focused on reassurance?