European Sustainability Week sends a strong signal for sustainability
Despite growing political headwinds in Europe, more than 500 experts from business, science and politics made a clear commitment to sustainability and responsible business practices during the European Sustainability Week (ESW) 2025 at Petersberg near Bonn. The focus was on the ESG Summit 2025, the use of artificial intelligence in sustainability reporting and several awards for pioneering companies.
From 25 to 27 November 2025, the EUPD Group, a Bonn-based market research and consulting company specializing in sustainability, gathered leading experts at the Steigenberger Icon Grandhotel & Spa Petersberg to discuss current challenges in European sustainability policy. In an environment in which regulatory requirements are coming under pressure and initiatives are being scaled back in some cases, ESW should position sustainability as a business-critical necessity and not a luxury.
ESG Summit 2025 as the centerpiece
The highlight of the week was the ESG Summit 2025 on November 26 with expert presentations and interactive panels in six thematic blocks, including social sustainability, financing in transition, new reporting standards and the potential of AI in ESG reporting. Leading ESG voices from Europe shared their assessments and emphasized the importance of networking and exchange for credible and effective sustainability strategies.
A central cross-cutting topic was the rapid progress of artificial intelligence and its significance for data quality, impact measurement and management culture. In a prominent roundtable on the decarbonization of European industry, Robert Habeck, representatives from Goldbeck Solar, TÜV Rheinland, Deutsche Telekom and Ruhr University Bochum, among others, discussed the real costs of uncertainty compared to consistent emission reduction.
Prizes for transparency, energy transition and corporate health
The conference was accompanied by break-out sessions, a trade exhibition and several award ceremonies, including the ESG Transparency Award, the Energiewende Award and the SolarProsumerAward for particularly transparent and future-oriented companies. The winners of the prestigious Corporate Health Award, which recognizes exemplary corporate health management and underlines the growing social importance of healthy working conditions, were also honoured at a gala dinner event on 25 November.
Companies see sustainability as a competitive factor
EUPD Group CEO Markus A.W. Hoehner reported growing uncertainty in the market about the role of ESG, but at the same time sees an increasing number of companies that want to strategically anchor sustainability in their core business in order to remain competitive. The European Sustainability Week should support this development, ask critical questions and further promote cross-industry dialog - with a continuation as part of ESW 2026.
Source: www.eupd-group.com
