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Climate protection and sustainability are losing momentum among companies in Germany, with many citing political uncertainty and weak market incentives as obstacles.
This is according to a report published on Thursday, February 26, 2026, by the Bertelsmann Foundation.
Nearly 60 per cent of more than 800 companies surveyed said sustainability had declined in priority within their organisations, up sharply from 14 per cent a year earlier, the Sustainability Transformation Monitor found.
The report was released in cooperation with the Mercator Foundation.
It has 73 per cent of its firms in the real and financial economy continuing to anchor responsibility for sustainability at board or executive level.
The authors said companies view uncertain political frameworks and a lack of market incentives as the main barriers to further progress, representing a rise of 30 percentage points compared to the previous year.
The share of companies planning new sustainability initiatives fell by 7 percentage points.
Without clear and reliable signals from policymakers and markets, the transformation risks entering a phase of stagnation, said Jakob Kunzlmann, a sustainability expert at the Bertelsmann Foundation.
At the same time, the proportion of companies setting their own climate targets rose to 59 per cent from 53 per cent, and among banks to 65 per cent from 46 per cent.
It is an important signal that more companies are monitoring emissions and adhering to climate goals, said Philipp Wesemann of the Mercator Foundation, adding that concrete investment plans and timelines are now crucial.
The German government has committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2045.
The report is intended to provide policymakers and businesses with a data-based foundation for decision-making.
