Why businesses are missing their sustainability targets

Most businesses will fail the sustainability test; not because they don't care but because they are measuring, communicating, and implementing sustainability incorrectly.

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The Transmutation Principle Newsletter
April 15, 2025

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Businesses are under increasing pressure to move beyond performative sustainability efforts and implement real, measurable change.

Shawn Lim, Human Algorithm

Sustainability is no longer a choice but an urgent necessity. In 2025, businesses face mounting pressure to transition from performative environmental efforts to tangible, measurable impact.

The challenges are vast, from climate change and biodiversity loss to supply chain transparency and sustainable urban development.

Yet, many businesses continue to struggle with integrating sustainability in a way that aligns with their commercial goals.

In an exclusive with Human Algorithm by Shawn Lim, our founder, Thibaut Guyard, explains how Transmutation Principle is guiding organisations through climate education, ESG strategy, and operational impact to help companies adopt sustainability measures and embed sustainability as a core function within their business model.

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Why most businesses get sustainability wrong

One of the biggest issues in corporate sustainability today is the contradiction between public commitments and real-world actions.

While businesses have never been more vocal about their sustainability efforts, environmental destruction continues at an alarming rate. This disconnect exposes the performative nature of many corporate sustainability initiatives, where businesses focus more on branding and public relations than on true systemic change.

Thibaut argues that the root problem lies in the economic structures businesses operate within.

“When the objective of 95% of companies worldwide, including 100% of MNCs, is to return profits to shareholders, sustainability becomes secondary,”

Thibaut Guyard

Many companies introduce small-scale initiatives or green marketing campaigns but fail to make the deep structural shifts required to drive lasting change. The result is a corporate landscape where sustainability efforts are often superficial, reactionary, or designed to meet regulatory requirements rather than create genuine impact.

Another common issue in the sustainability conversation is the tendency to shift responsibility onto consumers. 

Businesses frequently encourage individuals to make sustainable choices such as recycling, reducing waste, or buying eco-friendly products without addressing their own supply chain and production practices.

This creates a situation where consumers are made to feel responsible for fixing a problem that is largely systemic.

Thibaut highlights how this blame-shifting results in cognitive dissonance.

“We live in a world where sustainability messaging is stronger than ever, but the real impact of our actions is worse than ever. This means there is a problem between what we claim and what we truly do,” he explains.

Governments and corporations promote green initiatives while simultaneously encouraging consumption and mass travel. A city might market itself as a sustainability leader while advertising cheap flights that fuel carbon emissions.

These contradictions undermine trust and make it difficult for consumers to distinguish between meaningful sustainability efforts and marketing tactics.

Measuring sustainability impact remains one of the biggest challenges for companies.

Many rely on carbon offsetting and ESG reporting as their primary metrics, but these approaches often fail to capture the full picture.

According to Meurgue-Guyard, measuring impact should be a tool for transformation, not an administrative exercise.

One of the biggest problems is what he calls “carbon tunnel vision.”

“Many organisations focus almost exclusively on CO2 reduction while overlooking other crucial sustainability factors,” he says.

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Need more tips / advice for solving your sustainability challenges?

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The 3% Leadership: Supporting SMEs in climate-proofing their business.

We believe that lasting systematic change starts with transforming the way we run businesses and public services. 99% of Singapore’s businesses are SMEs, and we are committed to helping enterprises embed sustainability - from education to implementation.

This is why we have setup the 3% Leadership which comprises of cross-domain sustainability experts to assist enterprises from all sectors with their Impact assessments, Carbon Footprint audit and customising of Sustainability frameworks that would inform their ESG implementation roadmap.

The 3% Leadership is inspired by the 3% Year-on-Year global emission reduction goal to reach net-carbon by 2050.

We’ve developed a program tailored to SMEs that can supplement their existing initiatives and or to develop new capabilities in a 3-step approach: Measure - Analyse - Implement, to climate-proof their business.

Register for our taster session on how to Climate-Proof your business:

Learn how to future-proof your business against climate and compliance risks, to sustainably embed sustainability in your business.

Who is it for?

  • Eco-curious business owners

  • Mid-level key decision makers in your organisation

  • Sustainability champions

Key takeaways:

  • Climate-proofing our planet: what happens if we don't

  • What Climate-risks look like for your business

  • Climate-Proofing approaches for SMEs