According to the study “Sustainability in Action 2026” published by Sweep and Capgemini, nearly all French business leaders report losses tied to disruptions in their supply chains. Yet, at the very moment when the environmental transition becomes an operational urgency, decision-makers’ confidence in the quality of their own sustainability data is collapsing.
A Financial Impact on Corporate Supply Chains
The figures from a survey of 200 French decision-makers reveal a critical situation: 91% of organizations report having incurred financial losses in the past two years due to climate-related disruptions affecting their supply chains. The scale of the damage is particularly severe for more than a fifth of them (21%), who estimate the harm at over $1 million. Only a minority of companies still manages to escape these unexpected costs.
As urgency demands swift trade-offs, the quality of decision-making information is deteriorating as well. Two-thirds of French leaders (67%) say their environmental data remains insufficient or poorly integrated to guide their company’s overall strategy effectively. This mistrust has sharpened over the past two years, revealing the lag in information systems: data are often too siloed, incomplete, and inadequately standardized to keep pace with on-the-ground disruptions.
The Green Transition as a Growth Driver
Despite this opacity in information and the multiplication of crises, decision-makers’ strategic commitment remains strong. A large majority of French respondents (80%) continue to view the low-carbon transition as a real economic opportunity rather than a constraint. Meanwhile, nearly 80% of sustainability leaders (CSOs) say that transforming their organization’s business model is a prerequisite to ensuring resilience in a decarbonized economy.
In France, 75% of decision-makers indicate that AI adoption has led to a net increase in their investments in sustainability. By automating the collection and processing of complex data, AI improves the auditability of information, facilitates access to green financing, and significantly reduces the time spent on reporting.
A Study Confirming the Urgency to Act
Conducted by the independent Censuswide firm among 1,000 senior executives across five major global markets (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the DACH region, and the Nordic countries), the study highlights an issue shared by all sectors—industrial, energy, and retail. It concludes that companies able to modernize their data management will be best positioned to weather market volatility, protect their margins, and succeed in their transformation toward a resilient business model.
According to the report’s authors, risk management must be approached with far greater foresight. The interconnection of sustainability data at every link in the value chain becomes the essential foundation for securing supplies and optimizing costs. By building a streamlined information infrastructure, organizations no longer merely respond to regulatory reporting requirements; they turn a legal obligation into a durable competitive advantage in the face of economic and climate shocks.
