Every first Wednesday of the month, Plan A hosts Voices of Sustainability, a community round tablefor sustainability and finance managers. This is not a typical webinar. It's a framed debate conversation between sustainability professionals who understand the real challenges reality poses. With limited seating, we create a closed environment for candid discussions about what actually works in corporate decarbonisation. The event is governed by the Chatham House Rules. This is an actionable recap of the conversation and a share of the most useful parts of our discussion.
This session set the stage for a focused exploration of sustainability’s shifting landscape, structured around three core themes:
🎯 2025 in review — a pivotal year of transformation for sustainability
⏳ 2026 on the horizon — the emerging trends shaping what comes next
📉 AI in practice — balancing ambition, challenges, and real-world adoption
We were delighted to welcome Ronan Robe, Director of Product and Co-founder of Fruggr, bringing deep expertise in IT decarbonization, and Johannes Weber, Director of Sustainability Solutions at Plan A, who will helped us unpack the regulatory and strategic implications shaping 2026 and beyond.
Regulation heats up, AI matures, and sustainable IT becomes strategic in shaping ESG and decarbonization practices for 2026–2027.
Key takeaways
1. Regulation: Acceleration and Spillover Effects
- 2026 will be dense with regulatory milestones:
- CSDDD enforcement steps
- CSRD rollout and expanding implementation
- Digital Product Passports gaining traction across sectors
- Even firms not directly covered by regulation increasingly need to disclose because they sit in the supply chains of larger regulated companies.
→ A clear flywheel effect that pushes ESG reporting obligations deeper into the market.
2. AI: From Hype to Optimization
- 2025 marked the AI adoption movement, rapid, sometimes forced adoption of AI across ESG reporting and decarbonization workflows.
- 2026 will shift from adoption to optimisation:
- Companies defining where AI truly adds value
- More strategic, frugal, and risk-aware use
- Prioritizing tools that reduce complexity rather than add it
- We’re entering the AI optimisation era, moving from “use AI everywhere” to “use AI wisely.”
3. The Emerging EU Advantage
- The EU’s governance-driven approach to AI may become a competitive advantage:
- Encourages frugality, rightsizing, and energy-aware usage
- Optimizes for holistic KPIs—not just financial ROI, but environmental, social, and governance impacts
- This mindset may prevent the risks associated with unchecked AI scaling and create better long-term resilience.
4. Sustainable IT: Key Opportunities for 2026
- Growing relevance of circularity-friendly digital systems
- Smarter, lighter models and more energy-efficient architectures
- Rightsizing infrastructure and workloads
- Integrating ethical guidelines directly into digital product and AI deployment strategies
→ Sustainable IT becomes an operational and strategic lever, not a side topic.
Useful links
- Felix Schreitmüller's research on sustainability priorities
- Mistral’s Ministral models announcement
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