Corporate America is doubling down on renewable energy, even as confidence falters over whether the transition to cleaner power is meeting their sustainability goals.
The 2025 Forbes Research State of Sustainability Survey found that renewable energy will become the second-highest sustainability priority over the next year among the more than 1,100 global executives polled between January and March across 10 industries as well as cities and communities — trailing only AI-powered efficiency measures. Nearly six in 10 business leaders said they plan to expand their use of renewables over the following 12 months, up sharply from just over four out of 10 in the 2024 survey.
Yet faith is slipping even as adoption accelerates. Only 41% of executives describe their renewable initiatives as successful, down from 61% the year before. The result is a striking paradox: Companies are planning to invest more heavily in clean power at a time when they’re less certain about the payoff.
Who’s Leading The Transition?
A similar pattern is at play at the sector level, as the industries planning to prioritize renewables the most are seeing the least benefit from their efforts. The agriculture and resources sector leads all industries in renewable energy adoption, with 72% of industry executives planning to carry out such initiatives over the coming year. The energy (68%) and information technology industries (64%) round out the top 3 in planning a renewables transition.
However, while agriculture’s exposure to land, water and supply-chain pressures makes renewable power an attractive way to reduce costs and emissions simultaneously, the sector has actually found the least amount of success adopting the clean energy sources. By contrast, the finance and retail sectors, which rank near the bottom when it comes to year-ahead adoption plans, have nonetheless found more success from their renewable programs.
Sun-Fueled Power Continues To Shine
Solar energy remains well ahead of wind power among renewable sources, with 69% of executives predicting it will have a global impact. Falling panel prices, price parity with fossil-based power and flexible deployment make solar the default choice for corporate decarbonization — far outpacing wind energy (38%).
Both figures are down from the previous year, when solar outpaced wind 76% to 41%. Scaling renewable sources to power more corporate operations is proving difficult. Supply-chain constraints, transmission bottlenecks and volatile power-purchase agreement prices have cooled optimism.
Executives broadly agree that renewable energy remains essential to meeting corporate climate goals. The challenge is translating that momentum into sustainability gains. For now, the takeaway is clear: Adoption is up, confidence is down — but the race toward clean power is still on.
