Sustainability remains central to B2B sales strategies despite a subdued public and governmental narrative
There’s been a noticeable pullback in public talk around sustainability, less airtime in the boardroom, subsidies dropped, and a general media shift. Doesn’t matter. Our data shows companies are still placing sustainability at the center of their commercial strategies. The public narrative has toned down, but the work hasn’t stopped. Business leaders who are seeing the strongest growth?
What’s driving this? Pretty simple, sustainability sells. Companies see commercial gain. That’s why they keep pushing forward with sustainable product lines and services. They’re doing this for growth, differentiation, and access to stronger customer relationships.
Frontline sales teams, basically the people closest to customers and deals, aren’t easing off the gas either. They’re reporting growing interest and willingness to buy from customers who favor sustainability. And it’s measurable. According to a global Bain B2B survey run in April 2025, covering over 750 companies, 90% of organizations with higher-than-average revenue growth expect sustainability to increase the value of their business in the next three years. Compare that to just 60% of lower-growth peers. That gap is meaningful. Even in regions facing policy rollbacks, top performers are betting on sustainability as a growth lever.
If your company isn’t treating sustainability as a commercial asset, you’re not just behind, you’re becoming invisible to customers who want more than price and performance. You’re missing the part of the market that’s growing the fastest.
Customer demand is increasingly favoring sustainable products, reshaping the purchasing landscape
Customers have changed how they buy, and they’re not going back. What they say, and more importantly, what they do, clearly shows that product-level sustainability is becoming a top factor in purchasing decisions. Companies are buying more from suppliers with stronger sustainability credentials, and this trend is accelerating.
Most customers already buy more from sustainable suppliers. About 70% plan to buy even more in the next three years. That’s according to the same Bain survey. Even where companies haven’t yet dropped suppliers that fall short, half say they intend to walk away from those relationships within three years. Not because they want to be idealistic, but because sustainability of the product matters more than ever to their own customers, regulators, and shareholders.
There’s a clear shift in what buyers care about. Three years ago, the focus was largely on the operations of the supplier, energy use, recycling, emissions, etc. Now, that has dropped down the list. What’s rising is the sustainability of the product or service itself, what they’re actually paying for. That’s going to be their second-most important purchase criteria by 2028, just behind quality. That means sustainability will rank higher than price, higher than service levels.
Executives who fail to recognize this shift risk misfiring on value propositions, losing deals not because their product underperforms, but because their ESG messaging doesn’t match customer expectations.
Sustainability creates revenue opportunities through customer loyalty and premium pricing strategies
Sustainability is driving profit. High-growth B2B companies understand this clearly. They’re not only keeping customers by meeting sustainability expectations; they’re also capturing more value per transaction. Customer loyalty is increasing for suppliers with credible sustainable offerings, and more importantly, those suppliers are getting paid more.
The data shows that over 80% of B2B buyers paid a premium on their most recent sustainable purchase. One in three buyers is already paying more than 5% above baseline costs, and around 60% say they’ll be open to similar premiums within three years. These trends give sales teams a clear signal: sustainability is no longer a side topic, it’s a revenue driver that buyers are actively investing in.
The distinction between lower-growth and higher-growth companies is stark. Those leading in revenue growth are not treating sustainability as a compliance requirement or as corporate social responsibility, they’re using it to grow. They present sustainable products as performance-enhanced, higher-value solutions that meet emerging customer needs, regulatory shifts, and environmental objectives. And it’s working.
For C-suite leaders, particularly in commercial roles, now is the time to operationalize this thinking: sustainability should be part of your fundamental pricing and positioning strategies. Get the economics right, and you won’t just be doing the right thing, you’ll be increasing margins, deepening trust with customers, and strengthening market position.
Selling sustainable products effectively requires a distinct sales approach and specialized capabilities
Selling sustainability isn’t the same as selling standard SKUs. It doesn’t work if your sales team is just repeating old playbooks with some new words. What’s needed is a shift in how companies understand customer priorities and how they communicate the business value hidden inside their sustainable offers, carbon reduction, energy savings, regulatory alignment, all of it.
The problem is most B2B sellers still don’t get this right. Only 34% say they have strong knowledge of what their customers really want when it comes to sustainability. Suppliers consistently overestimate factors like safety and underestimate the value customers place on reducing Scope 3 emissions, the embedded emissions within what they’re actually buying. And 59% of suppliers report that their own salespeople don’t know how to clearly articulate the carbon or economic impact advantages of their sustainable products.
This disconnect isn’t invisible to buyers. Only half feel the products they’re offered actually support their sustainability goals. In many cases, the problem isn’t the product, it’s the messaging and the sales process. Teams are pursuing the wrong accounts or failing to tailor their pitches to what high-value customers care about. A chemicals company that was struggling in this area rebuilt its go-to-market strategy using AI to target 100+ new buyer segments. Not only did it unlock new demand, it did it with full intent and precision.
The takeaway is straightforward. Success in sustainable selling requires better talent, sharper tools, and clear internal alignment. Sales teams need calibrated training, performance incentives tied to sustainability-related goals, and digital support that simplifies complex value propositions. Companies leading in this space use AI for deep prospecting, build custom sales plays, and give reps the tools to lead detailed, consultative conversations around environmental and financial ROI.
C-suite leaders who want to see actual commercial returns from sustainability need to treat this as a capability investment. The market is rewarding differentiation, and that takes more than product development. It takes a smarter, data-enabled sales force driven by insight, not assumption.
High-growth companies are investing in four key capabilities to drive sustainability-led growth
Winning with sustainability requires more than intention. Leaders aren’t making one-off improvements, they’re systematizing it across the commercial engine. High-growth companies are building out four distinct capabilities to fully capture the upside of sustainability in B2B sales: smarter segmentation, tighter product positioning, empowered sales teams, and aggressive value capture. Each of these areas connects directly to measurable revenue performance.
First, advanced customer segmentation is critical. Leaders are not just categorizing customers by size or region, they’re integrating data on environmental goals, carbon commitments, product-level needs, and even how customers present their own sustainability agendas to the market. Using AI, some companies are now generating dynamic customer profiles that highlight the most promising accounts for sustainable offerings. This depth allows teams to prioritize the right conversations and close larger, more strategic deals.
Second, sustainability is positioned as a central part of the product’s value, not an add-on. Growth leaders articulate exactly how their offering beats traditional alternatives on carbon impact, regulatory compliance, and cost efficiency. They quantify results, instead of relying on ESG buzzwords. These firms show how their product directly supports the buyer’s goals, whether that’s hitting emissions targets, minimizing resource use, or reducing environmental risk.
Third, the sales team isn’t left unsupported. High-performers are investing in capability uplift across teams. That means onboarding tools, AI-based coaching, interactive training, and compensation structures that reward the ability to lead sustainability-first conversations. Teams are taught not just how the product works, but why its sustainability value matters in the buyer’s broader strategy.
Fourth, value capture is approached intentionally. Rather than folding sustainability into generic pricing, leaders tune their revenue models to extract full value. That includes actively competing for emission-conscious budgets, using internal carbon prices to justify premiums, and identifying segments where willingness to pay is well above average. They don’t just sell more, they sell smarter and at better margins.
These four capabilities are evolving into essential commercial infrastructure. Leading companies recognize that as customers embed sustainability into procurement decisions, sales models must keep pace, or get left behind. Growth is increasingly realized through how well you can align with your buyer’s environmental goals. That means data, talent, and tech are all required, and they need to be built now, not later. Bain’s April 2025 survey of 433 B2B executives confirms this: companies investing actively in these capabilities are widening the gap over lagging competitors, not just in ESG metrics, but in topline growth.
Key takeaways for decision-makers
- Sustainability drives commercial performance: Despite reduced public messaging, high-growth B2B companies see sustainability as a revenue engine, not a narrative. Leaders should embed sustainability into core commercial strategies to capture long-term value.
- Buyers focus on sustainable products over operations: Customers now prioritize the environmental impact of what they buy, not how suppliers operate. Decision-makers must position sustainable offerings as central to product value, not just a compliance point.
- Sustainability unlocks price premiums and loyalty: Over 80% of buyers pay more for sustainable products, with 60% expecting to in future. Leaders should restructure pricing strategies to reflect the full value and future readiness of sustainable solutions.
- Selling sustainability requires specific capabilities: Traditional sales approaches underperform when pitching ESG-driven solutions. Executives should equip sales teams with tools, training, and data to deliver targeted, outcome-driven sustainability conversations.
- Growth leaders invest in four ESG sales capabilities: High performers optimize segmentation, messaging, enablement, and value capture around sustainability. To remain competitive, firms must build this infrastructure now using AI, incentive alignment, and performance-based ESG metrics.
