Ah, reviews of the year.

An editorial attempt to bookend a 12-month period with a collection of highs and lows, joy and sadness, expected and unexpected.

So far, 2025 has certainly not been light on source material - or a year for the faint-hearted in communications. In fact, for many companies it has brought a slew of new challenges that have tested their reputation mettle to its foundations.

And looking ahead to 2026, it can be easy to predict that we’ll see more unpredictability, more new challenges and more profound disruption in the months ahead. Yet one factor that has remained remarkably resilient in the face of untold pressure, and is likely to remain central to reputation next year, is sustainability.

That’s despite the way that communication of sustainability goals and actions has changed markedly for some companies, particularly with the change of Government in the US and the resulting politicised criticism it has brought.

When you take stock of how sustainability communications has fared across 2025, it’s fair to say that many firms have made efforts to demonstrate their continued commitment to positive change — and many have gone on record to say so. But many have also become quieter in sharing those details with the outside world.

With such turmoil around sustainability issues, it’s not hard to see why. We began the year with a summary of the political sniping that companies were facing around Donald Trump’s second inauguration.

That was soon followed by a major rollback in ESG investment across Europe, and many US companies softening their stance on sustainable investment and change goals, in the wake of Trump’s words on the topics.

But within weeks, the outlook seemed more positive, with several major stories about European companies sticking to their guns over sustainability, having invested heavily in the transformation it intends to bring. In the summer, news came of Europe remaining on target to meet its ambitious 2050 climate goals. A report then outlined that many companies were staying the course on sustainability, but choosing their words wisely.

Trump’s autumnal state visit to the UK saw headlines of apparent bullying over environmental pledges, while the final months of 2025 have seen Bill Gates ruffle feathers, the BBC put corporate governance in the spotlight and a lacklustre COP30 indicating that the forum needs a broad rethink.

Where does this leave corporate sustainability initiatives in 2026? Well probably, similar to the situation they’ve been in this year and in the recent past: positive and tangible progress in some critical areas, a hugely important road ahead and the likelihood that many more obstacles will be thrown in the way.

But after the storms of 2025, communications teams may feel they’ve had a full test of their resilience around sustainability topics, and in the future nothing will surprise them.