Nearly nine out of ten institutional investors globally report that they are not changing their commitments to sustainable investing, despite geopolitical pressures, although many are being quieter about it, according to a new survey by financial group BNP Paribas.
For the report, ESG Survey 2025, BNP Paribas surveyed 420 asset owners, asset management and private capital firms, representing nearly $34 trillion in assets under management, across 29 countries globally.
The survey found that despite the recent geopolitical upheavals, less than 3% of investors reported scaling back their ESG objectives, while 87% report that their ESG and sustainability objectives remain the same. Within the latter group, however, nearly half said that despite retaining their ESG objectives, they have become less vocal about their process and achievements.
Investors in the Americas were much more likely to report scaling back their sustainability objectives, at 7%, compared to around 2% or EMEA investors, and less than 1% of APAC investors, according to the report.
According to the survey, investors plans to stick with their ESG approaches broadly reflects their future expectations, with 85% reporting that they expect the pace of progress towards sustainability to remain the same (74%) or to even accelerate (11%) through 2030, although 23% said that they expect it to continue “with less publicity,” and only 16% expect it to slow down.
The survey also found that approaches to sustainable investing are becoming more sophisticated and focused, with investors increasingly allocating to specific themes or regions to help concentrate their expertise on generating better outcomes. Overall, thematic investing has increased over the past few years, with half of investors now citing using it as a sustainable investing approach, behind only negative screening at 62%, and energy transition investments at 52%. In the report, BNP Paribas said:
“With growing investment opportunities in ranging from energy to biodiversity, to adaptation activities, to transition, we can expect investors to continue to focus on thematics for the rest of this decade, and to reduce exposure to generalist ESG strategies.”
The survey assessed investors’ top sustainability objectives for the short- and long-term. Over the next two years, 49% of investors reported plans to increase allocations to energy transition assets, and 49% said that they will use active ownership to advance their organization’s ESG goals, while 46% reported that they will invest in low-carbon assets and divest from high-carbon assets. Notably, less than a third of investors reported that they will integrate DEI into investment policies, down from 41% in a 2023 survey.
Longer term, committing to net zero by a specific date was the most commonly cited sustainability objectives, reported by 40% of investors, followed by plans to measure portfolio alignment with Paris Agreement benchmarks at 34%, and to promote social issues by 33%.
Well over half of investors – 58% – continue to report “ESG/sustainability data and research challenges” as the most significant barrier they face when allocating to ESG and sustainability investments. Additional challenges cited by investors include the conflict between short-term performance and long-term sustainability goals, cited by 56%, and greenwashing risks by investee companies or product providers at 54%.
The report found that in order to manage their ESG data challenges, nearly half of investors (48%) anticipate allocating more budget to ESG data acquisition and analysis, while 38% plan to increase funding to reporting, impact measurement and disclosure, and 37% expect to hire specialized ESG talent. 54% of investors reported using and comparing multiple sources of sustainability data, while 48% said that they conduct their own research methodologies, such as creating benchmarks or in-house ESG scores.
Investors also appear wary of relying on ESG ratings, with 70% agreeing that focusing on ESG ratings could lead companies to favor reputation management over real impact.
Click here to access the survey.
