Signal 91% of European companies report investor pressure on sustainability

Summary

EY's 2025 study on long-term value and corporate governance found that 91% of European companies felt pressure from investors to speed up sustainable business practices. EY uses this as a sign that some investors are shifting to weigh factors beyond short-term financial returns. Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and many family offices already invest over horizons of decades. Others are now moving in a similar direction, which EY describes as investors balancing short-term profit with long-term return. It adds that investors must meet long-term expectations while managing near-term obligations, a tension that may require policy and regulatory change to embed these emerging behaviours.