Kyndryl and Microsoft Study Reveals That 78% of Leading Organizations Highlight IT as a Key Enabler of Environmental Goals
Organizations that embed sustainability into strategy and operations – powered by agentic AI and trusted data – outpace peers in resilience, innovation and financial returns
NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyndryl, a leading provider of mission-critical enterprise technology services, in collaboration with Microsoft, today announced the findings of the third annual Global Sustainability Barometer Study, conducted by Ecosystm. The study reveals that integration-focused organizations – those that align sustainability with business strategy, empower employees and adopt advanced technologies like AI – are driving measurable business value and lasting impact in today's rapidly changing world.
"We're seeing more leaders connect policy, people and purpose – embracing technological insights and agentic AI – to drive impact and not just report on sustainability," said Faith Taylor, Senior Vice President, Global Citizenship and Sustainability, at Kyndryl. "This shift – from compliance to action – means that when sustainability is embedded in the business, organizations across industries and geographies can make smarter, data-driven decisions that build resilience and spark innovation."
Integration-Focused Organizations Lead the Way Globally
The 2025 Global Sustainability Barometer Study identifies a decisive shift from years prior: leading organizations embed sustainability into core business processes to outperform their peers across regions and industries. These leaders turn sustainability into a value-creation engine, driving resilience, competitiveness, and market differentiation. Notably, 78% of integration-focused organizations highlight IT as a key enabler in achieving sustainability goals, leveraging data, automation, and AI for measurable impact, and 56% of IT teams now lead sustainability efforts beyond IT, up from 38% in 2024.
"The 2025 Global Sustainability Barometer Study shows that more than half of leading organizations now use predictive AI to anticipate and act on sustainability challenges – rather than just to track and analyze – making forward-looking intelligence central to sustainability strategy," said Ricardo Davila, GM, Enterprise Partner Solutions, Microsoft. "We're proud to partner across the ecosystem to help every organization turn sustainability into a data-driven operating capability."
Key Global Findings:
- Core Driver of Strategy: 62% of integration-focused organizations embed sustainability into their innovation, cost savings and resilience strategies – compared to 34% of others – transforming sustainability from a compliance requirement into a catalyst for long-term growth and competitive advantage.
- Financial Gains: 59% of organizations worldwide report financial benefits from sustainability investments, primarily through operational efficiency, customer retention and new market opportunities.
- Early Agentic AI Adoption: Globally, 30% of all organizations are piloting or deploying agentic AI for sustainability, with early adopters reporting measurable gains in cost savings, innovation and compliance.
- Connecting Policy, People, and Purpose: 73% of organizations globally report strong alignment between technology and sustainability teams. By connecting departmental objectives, empowering employees and engaging stakeholders, these leaders move sustainability from a compliance exercise to a driver of business value and lasting impact.
- Regional & Industry Momentum: Europe leads in aligning tech modernization and AI adoption for sustainability, propelled by robust regulatory frameworks. Across all regions, countries accelerating sustainability cite clearer return on investment (ROI) or new revenue opportunities as the top drivers (67%). Additionally, industries leading in agentic AI adoption and experimentation include energy and utilities, banking and transport – with focus placed beyond energy and emissions optimization, on operational resilience, resource efficiency, and sustainable product design.
"Organizations today have the opportunity to overcome long-standing challenges in bridging strategy and execution," said Sash Mukherjee, Vice President, Industry Insights, Ecosystm. "Predictive and Agentic AI create a closed-loop system where insight meets action. Predictive AI anticipates risks, while Agentic AI responds in real time, turning strategy into execution. When technology and business strategy align, organizations can truly embed measurable environmental outcomes into everyday operations."
The study findings align with the 2025 Kyndryl Readiness Report and recognize the deeper integration between sustainability and IT. The Readiness Report reveals that 27% businesses that invest in IT modernization achieve sustainability-based benefits through efficiency, innovation, security and compliance, while 22% cite improved energy efficiency or sustainability as a critical outcome for digital transformation ROI.
About the Global Sustainability Barometer Study
The third edition of the Global Sustainability Barometer Study, conducted by Ecosystm and commissioned by Kyndryl and Microsoft, reflects the perspectives of 1,286 enterprise leaders spanning 20 countries and nine industry groups. Conducted between August and September 2025, this study aims to provide a comprehensive view of how integration, strategy, and technology are transforming sustainability from compliance to competitive advantage.
Learn more about the study, From Planning to Progress: AI-Driven Sustainability in Practice.
Kyndryl Press Contact
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About Kyndryl
Kyndryl (NYSE:KD) is a leading provider of mission-critical enterprise technology services, offering advisory, implementation and managed service capabilities to thousands of customers in more than 60 countries. As the world's largest IT infrastructure services provider, the company designs, builds, manages and modernizes the complex information systems that the world depends on every day. For more information, visit www.kyndryl.com.
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