Leading Through the Fog: UKGBC's Sustainability Leadership in Uncertain Times

UKGBC leadership programmes equip participants to lead through conflict, to build narratives that hold nuance, and to foster the courage it takes to challenge the norms.

we need to widen our definition of value.”

We’ve recently wrapped up our Recalibrate 2025 programme, where we’ve been privileged to work with ten outstanding business leaders. Their reflections are not only insightful – they’re essential. These leaders are asking big questions, grappling with tension, and carving paths through complexity.

Alongside this, we completed our Leading Sustainability short-format programme with a deeply engaged group. We’ve also reconnected with alumni of the Change Accelerator — six months on from their journey — who are navigating their realities of driving change within their organisations.

The Power of Space to Think

In last week’s Recalibrate session, Charles Wookey (former CEO of Blueprint for a Better Business) helped participants dive into the heart of personal purpose and leadership dilemmas. The timing couldn’t have been better.

Across all our Leadership cohorts, one theme is striking: the urgent need to pause, step back, and create space to think. Leaders are stretched. They’re under pressure. And yet, what they’re discovering in these programmes is rare and vital: space to reflect, to reconnect with purpose, and to rediscover what they’re truly leading for.

Navigating the Crosswinds

Two dominant forces are shaping the current leadership context.

Externally, market shifts, investor caution, and scepticism at board level are pushing sustainability further down the corporate agenda.

Internally, leaders are weathering ongoing restructuring, redundancies, and turbulent change. Many find themselves experiencing a second wave of disruption within a single year.

In this environment, a pressing question is surfacing

How do you influence and maintain momentum for sustainability when the ground keeps shifting beneath your feet?

What the Cohorts are Teaching Us

Here are two key insights that have emerged from our Recalibrate 2025 participants

Start with a Sustainability Vision

Imagine if every project, from the outset, began with a sustainability strategy—embedded at the investment stage rather than bolted on later. What if sustainability wasn’t retrofitted but fundamentally baked into the business case?

Mindset and Culture are the Real Leverage Points

Too often, sustainability is still seen as “another thing.” And increasingly, companies are asking, “Do we really need to do Net Zero?” Without a cultural shift in how we define value, sustainability will continue to be seen as optional.

Leaders Who Care, Deeply

Across our cohorts are leaders who care profoundly about what is happening to the planet and what it means for people. They want to make a bigger difference—whether through supporting their teams, championing better design, or upskilling their organisations.

These leaders are trying to influence outcomes in a context that can feel resistant, even hostile, to change. But they are not giving up. They are finding strength in shared values and courage in collective action.

Time and Again, We Return to a Central Question

What is the role of sustainability leadership—and of UKGBC—in helping business leaders hold both the commercial and moral case for change?

We are up against something larger than short-term targets. Today, value is still largely defined in narrow financial terms. But to respond to the scale of the challenge we face, we need to support leaders who can hold the line, keep the agenda alive, and call business to act with integrity

Join the Conversation

look at what you can do with a different mindset.”

We want to hear from you. What are you seeing in your own leadership context? How are you holding your ground, and where do you need support?

Explore how our UKGBC Leadership programmes can equip you to influence with clarity, courage, and care—especially during times of uncertainty.

Enquire now for Recalibrate 2026
Join Change Accelerator 2025

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