63% of executives across five major EU economies support mandatory climate transition plans for large companies.
Half of surveyed firms say sustainability reporting strengthens investment opportunities, while 55% link it to competitiveness.
Business leaders warn that EU Omnibus reforms risk raising costs and undermining alignment with global due diligence standards.
European businesses call sustainability a competitiveness issue
A new survey of more than 2,500 senior executives across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland reveals broad support for binding corporate sustainability and due diligence rules, cutting against the direction of current EU policy reforms.
The research, commissioned by climate think tank E3G and conducted by YouGov in August 2025, shows that European businesses increasingly view environmental and social governance requirements as core to their competitiveness, investment potential and global positioning.
More than half of respondents (55%) said that becoming environmentally sustainable strengthens their company’s competitiveness, a figure rising to 77% among mid-sized firms. Executives also highlighted reputational and profitability gains, with 59% describing sustainability as essential to brand value and bottom-line growth.
Strong appetite for transition plans and reporting
Support for mandatory climate transition planning under the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) is particularly pronounced. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents said it is fair to require large companies to publish plans to shift toward a low-carbon economy. Among firms with 250–999 employees, that share rose to 74%.
Sustainability reporting obligations under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) also drew backing. Half of surveyed leaders believe that collecting and publishing sustainability data enhances access to capital. Larger companies were even more convinced, with 68% of mid-sized and 62% of very large firms saying reporting helps attract investment.
Notably, executives favored a wider reporting scope than the EU’s current Omnibus reform proposals envisage. The most popular threshold for mandatory disclosure was set at 250 employees, consistent with the original CSRD framework. By contrast, only 15% supported limiting requirements to firms with 2,000 or more staff.
Business leaders push for global alignment
Two-thirds (68%) of respondents said the EU should set a global example on sustainability standards, reflecting a concern that rolling back requirements could weaken Europe’s international leadership. Nearly half (48%) agreed that strong environmental and social rules would give European companies a long-term competitive edge over China and the United States.
For firms with global supply chains, this view was even stronger. Sixty-nine percent of companies with operations outside the EU said sustainability practices bolster competitiveness, while 62% agreed that strong due diligence rules would encourage large firms to favor European suppliers due to simpler compliance.
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Pushback on Omnibus reforms
Despite this consensus, EU institutions are moving to simplify sustainable finance rules through the Omnibus package, a process many executives see as counterproductive. Forty-two percent said the reforms risk diverging from international standards such as the OECD guidelines, potentially raising costs and legal risks.
Nearly half (48%) of business leaders said legal uncertainty around the Omnibus is already delaying investment decisions, with the effect most pronounced among larger companies. Almost two-thirds (63%) of mid-sized firms reported putting capital allocation on hold due to unclear regulatory requirements.
E3G noted that the survey results show a widening gap between policymakers seeking to streamline obligations and business leaders who see structured sustainability frameworks as a pathway to growth and resilience.
Policy, finance and governance implications
For C-suite executives and investors, the findings highlight a dual reality. European companies are positioning sustainability not as a regulatory burden but as a competitive necessity that attracts capital and mitigates supply chain risks. At the same time, shifting EU policy threatens to create uncertainty and weaken Europe’s credibility in setting global ESG standards.
The survey also underscores a broader strategic concern: while U.S. and Chinese markets move rapidly on green industrial policy, European business leaders see strong ESG governance as critical to preserving Europe’s global edge.
Global significance
The data carries weight beyond Europe. With global investors looking for clarity on reporting and due diligence, any EU backtracking could reverberate through supply chains and capital markets worldwide. The survey suggests that the business case for sustainability is already internalized by many European firms, even as political negotiations in Brussels drag on.
The message from boardrooms across five of Europe’s largest economies is clear: robust sustainability rules are not a threat to competitiveness, but a foundation for it.
Read E3G-commissioned YouGov company survey here.
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