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Sustainability is increasingly being reframed. What matters now is how solutions can be financed, scaled and implemented in the real economy.
by Karen Hitschke and Johannes Pokorny*
Sustainability is entering a period of recalibration. Markets remain volatile, geopolitical tensions are reshaping priorities, and regulation is developing unevenly across jurisdictions. Yet the shift we observe is not a retreat from sustainability, but a change in how it is understood and applied.
That shift was evident across more than 270 events with over than 16,000 participants at Climate Week Zurich this year and in Building Bridges’ year-round engagement across Switzerland and internationally.
Recalibration, not retreat
We are writing at a time of increasing fragmentation and uncertainty. Markets remain volatile, geopolitical tensions continue to reshape priorities, and sustainability-related topics are progressing unevenly across jurisdictions and themes. Yet across the board, what we observe is not a retreat from sustainability, but a recalibration of how it is understood and applied.
Sustainability is increasingly being viewed not as a standalone agenda, but as part of broader questions of resilience, competitiveness and long-term value creation. Whether tackling energy security, supply chain resilience, nature-related risks or infrastructure investment, organisations are focusing more sharply on the practical implications for their businesses, portfolios and customers.
The language may have changed, but the underlying drivers have not. Sustainability considerations are increasingly being integrated into how businesses manage risk, create value and compete.
From ambition to implementation
With increasing attention being paid to how solutions can be financed, deployed and scaled in the real economy, conversations that were once centred on commitments and targets are now centred on execution. How can capital be mobilised, risk reduced and proven solutions moved from pilots into mainstream markets?
Some of the most encouraging examples are those that bring together actors who would not traditionally work together. Climate adaptation, nature finance and resilience increasingly connect investors, corporates, insurers, policymakers and solution providers. The challenge is no longer simply generating ideas, but helping proven approaches attract capital and achieve broader market adoption.
The focus lies in enabling proven approaches to attract capital to move from isolated successes to broader market adoption.
What makes a solution investable?
For investors, sustainability credentials alone are rarely sufficient. Investability depends on the strength of the business model, a clear risk-return profile, measurable outcomes and a credible pathway to commercial adoption. Financial return expectations have not disappeared. If anything, they have become more important. At the same time, more frequent extreme weather is directing attention towards adaptation investments, including energy infrastructure, water management and nature-based solutions.
One ecosystem, many platforms
Against this backdrop, the role of sustainability platforms are also evolving. Sustainability platforms can help create the conditions for this collaboration by connecting institutions and sectors that need to work together. Progress depends on connecting investors with project developers, policymakers with business leaders, and innovators with established industries.
Decisions taken in boardrooms matter. Equally important are the people responsible for implementation inside organisations, balancing trade-offs, delivering commercial results and designing innovations.
Geneva and Zurich bring complementary strengths to this effort. Geneva combines private wealth with diplomacy and multilateral institutions; Zurich brings together financial services, multinational industry, academia, entrepreneurship and innovation. Closer links between the two ecosystems can strengthen the connections between those developing solutions, financing them and implementing them.
No single event can mobilise sufficient capital or change financial incentives on its own. Platforms such as Building Bridges, with its 7th Edition from 6–8 October; Climate Week Zurich, with its next edition 10-15 May 2027; and the Sustainable Switzerland Forum on 21 October in Zurich, can, however, connect the decision-makers and practitioners needed to move solutions forward.
Success by outcomes
Success will ultimately be measured not bythe number of events organised, but by the collaborations, investments andprojects that emerge from them – and by whether capital reaches solutions thatdeliver measurable outcomes in the real economy.
The challenges remain significant. But across Switzerland, the sustainability debate is becoming more pragmatic: less focused on declarations, and more on implementation, partnerships and long-term value creation.
*About the authors:
Karen Hitschke is the CEO of Building Bridges Foundation, dedicatedto “building bridges” between public and private stakeholders to shape theglobal sustainable finance agenda.
Johannes Pokorny is Managing Director of Climate Week Zurich, Europe’sleading implementation platform for transformative climate solutions.
Originally published in German 22 September 2026 on nzz.ch: Von Nachhaltigkeitsziel zur Wirkung in der Realwirtschaft | Sustainable Switzerland
