Positive change

Is sustainability holding nature back?

Zac Schwarz - June 2025

In 2024, a survey of 1,400 companies found that over half are downplaying their sustainability efforts for fear of litigation or PR blowback. Given the last year, you can be sure this figure has increased.

And yet, there is still one story that continues to appear in our newsfeeds and on our airwaves.

People are craving nature. They want to be outdoors. They feel sad when they don’t feel connected to the natural world. It’s as important and essential as the arts or sport.

So why do UK companies routinely promote arts and sports without flawless track records, but feel paralysed to celebrate nature?

When a company backs Glastonbury or a grassroots football team, the story is about community spirit, creativity and shared memories. No one asks if the sponsor’s entire business model is perfectly aligned with the arts or sport it supports. But whisper “we love the British countryside” and suddenly everyone demands detailed biodiversity audits or carbon-offset plans.

Despite the global decline in biodiversity and habitat, it is easier for business to cheer on a Premier League match than sponsor a wildflower meadow restoration – or align themselves with popstars instead of endangered species.

Of course brands and businesses need to think carefully about how they communicate climate-related initiatives but it’s also vital they don’t turn the tap off on nature marketing.

When only NGOs or certified “eco-brands” talk about nature, the conversation becomes dense with technical jargon. The pleasure of an autumn walk through Sherwood Forest or a spring paddle on the Thames slips away, unnoticed.

Nature deserves equal celebration. And if nearly two thirds of Brits want to increase the amount of time they spend outdoors in 2025, decoupling nature from the paralysis of corporate perfection could be a big business win too.

Let’s get business back to nature.