CEOs and CFOs continue to report that investors neither consistently nor meaningfully ask about, nor reward, sustainability performance of their company. Engagement is often limited to tick-box surveys or sector-wide perspectives on short-term impacts. Markets are not (yet) systemically pricing climate- and nature-related risks and losses into valuations at a corporate level. Solving this misalignment between financial markets and business would unlock incentives for businesses to invest in implementing and scaling solutions for growth and resilience - and better respond to the risks we face.

Realize the Value of Sustainability is the Action Theme designed to help members confidently present credible sustainability performance to financial markets and demonstrate how it contributes to enterprise value. It provides a platform for members and executive peers to engage in dialogue with investors, standard setters and policymakers at global and regional levels. The theme’s key deliverables focus on the main levers that make sustainable performance more tangible, credible and investable.

The initial deliverable in 2027 will be a clear Roadmap for Investability by 2030. That roadmap will identify the key enablers and barriers that must be addressed to support capital allocation for transformation at scale. It will put members ahead of the curve by anticipating the evolution of corporate transparency and capital market engagement around sustainability risks and solutions, especially as technology and AI reshape how sustainability performance is measured, communicated and assessed. This deliverable is designed for sustainability leaders working with finance, treasury, investor relations and legal colleagues, supported from executive champions across key topics and regions.

As capital markets are moving from valuing company targets toward assessing their transition plans, members will have the opportunity in 2027 to work together to enable the conditions and frameworks needed to develop plans that are supported by boards, rewarded by investors and aligned with rising regulatory expectations. Such plans will integrate material climate, nature and people considerations - both mitigation and adaptation - into broader corporate strategy, capital allocation and performance management. The aim is to help companies turn transition planning into a practical driver of transformation, resilience, growth and long-term value.

The final deliverable features WBCSD’s Business Valuation Initiative, which brings together global valuation and sustainability experts to work with members to develop practical methods for quantifying sustainability performance in financial terms. The initiative will explore how these methods can inform capital allocation in corporate finance and enterprise valuation, beginning with a focus on quantification and valuation of physical climate risks.

The Realize the Value of Sustainability theme sits at the top of the Action Themes pyramid and is designed to provide business leaders with insights to present their transition plans successfully to investors and other financial market players. The other Action Themes help members develop innovations, deploy critical responses and build the business case. This theme helps translate that progress into credible transition plans, clearer dialogue with investors, and information that boards and capital providers can use and value. In short, this work positions members to demonstrate the financial relevance of sustainability, engage capital markets with greater confidence and realize the enterprise value that sustainable performance creates.