Forbes: 20 Areas Seeing Meaningful Innovation And Progress In Sustainability
January 2026:
In 2026, a solid commitment to sustainability is a necessity for businesses seeking to endure long-term. More and more businesses are perceiving the advantages of sustainability and expanding their efforts to operate in environmentally conscious ways, bringing about new developments and significant opportunities across industries.
The members of Forbes Business Council see firsthand how sustainability breakthroughs are transforming how we live, build and consume. Below, 20 of them discuss areas where they see the most meaningful innovation in the broader sustainability landscape today.
1. Construction
The construction industry is clearly striving to catch up. New low-carbon materials and prefabrication techniques will make our buildings more sustainable. New automation products are also emerging. Very soon, AI will help us meet our current challenges. We won’t need to change our living habits, as the next generation of automation will manage comfort while significantly reducing energy waste. - Cyril Petit, CPHBA LLC
2. Energy Efficiency
The biggest innovation right now is in energy efficiency. This includes AI-driven grids, self-optimizing buildings and factories that cut waste automatically. When sustainability starts improving margins, not just morals, adoption skyrockets. Energy efficiency is already reshaping hiring because every company now wants talent who can blend tech, automation and clean-energy thinking. - Ranjay Sarda, The ARM Group
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
3. Materials Science
The most meaningful innovation I’m seeing in the sustainability landscape right now is in materials science. The focus is specifically on regenerative and circular materials that don’t just do less harm, but also actually improve the system they come from. We’re finally moving past the idea of sustainability as a compliance checkbox. - Jeff Hopmayer, Brindiamo Group
4. A Circular Retail Economy
One of the most meaningful shifts in sustainability is the rise of a circular retail economy. It is shocking how many new or nearly new items go to landfills. We’re focused on changing that by giving retailers an easy way to redirect excess inventory and returns to nonprofits that can use them. - Disney Petit, LiquiDonate
5. Transparency In Resource Usage
From a valuation perspective, the most impactful sustainability innovation is transparency in resource use. Better measurement of energy, carbon and lifecycle costs is changing how assets are designed and operated. When sustainability becomes measurable, it becomes investable, influencing how we build, consume and assign long-term value. - Ryan Hutchins, Peak Business Valuation
6. Data-Driven Sustainability
The most meaningful innovation is in data-driven sustainability. AI is helping brands measure real impact, not just intent, by tracking supply chains, energy use and consumer behavior. This shifts sustainability from messaging to accountability, reshaping how we design products, communicate value and make everyday choices. - Yasir Zahoor Rather, Insights Marketing & Communication
7. Behavioral Design
I’m seeing real innovation in behavioral design for sustainability. Technology is great, but the biggest shift is helping people change daily habits at scale. When sustainable choices feel effortless, we reshape how we build, buy and consume without resistance. - Miriam Groom, Mindful Career
8. Invisible Infrastructure
I see the most explosive shift in invisible infrastructure. This includes things like low-carbon materials as well as AI-optimized grids and logistics. Think buildings that self-price carbon, appliances that trade energy for you, and cities that learn which streets to cool or power down. It also quietly rewires desire, enabling people to own less, access more and waste nothing. - Arpit Jain, SEO Sets
9. Circular And Regenerative Design
The most meaningful innovation comes from circular and regenerative design. As materials, infrastructure and behaviors shift toward closed-loop systems, we move from a consumption mindset to one of renewal. This will redefine how we build, use resources and measure progress, making sustainability a lived operating model. - Radu Magdin, SMARTLINK COMMUNICATIONS
10. Biomimicry
Biomimicry is driving some of today’s most powerful sustainability breakthroughs, with materials, systems and cities designed to function like ecosystems. By copying nature’s efficiency and circularity, we can build structures that heal, products that regenerate and supply chains that eliminate waste. This will reshape how we live, build and consume. - Simon Hill, Wazoku
11. Regenerative Materials
The most powerful innovation is materials that regenerate rather than deplete, such as bio-based fabrics, carbon-negative concrete, circular packaging and more. These breakthroughs flip consumption from extractive to restorative. As they scale, sustainability stops being a compromise and becomes the default blueprint for how we build and live. - Victoria Marshall, Erase.com
12. Data Centers
Data centers, which are now AI factories where intelligence is produced, are a good example of this shift. Their explosive growth is reshaping demand, but they are not even the largest driver of consumption, as they are only the fourth or fifth sector. Every AI revolution needs an energy revolution behind it, and that revolution depends as much on the grid as on generation. - Andreas Schierenbeck, Hitachi Energy
13. Virtual Power Plants
Linking electric vehicles, home batteries and smart buildings lets software aggregate them as a flexible grid battery. That shaves peaks, stabilizes renewables and lowers bills. As homes, offices and fleets become paid grid assets, design shifts to enable storage and smart controls to become the standard. I just installed solar panels and batteries at home to charge my electric vehicle at night. It’s happening! - Marie Holive, Proteus International
14. Smart Cities
Sustainability across smart cities is growing every day, as populations increase and there are more cars on the road. Companies across the globe are developing solutions to integrate efficiencies like predictive traffic control, waste management, building energy consumption, infrastructure materials and more. This also creates internal efficiencies, leaving the team bandwidth to do more. - Jennifer Sanders, North Texas Innovation Alliance
15. Smart Energy Devices
Smart energy devices, such as solar, batteries, electric vehicles and smart thermostats, are now powerful enough to act as virtual power plants, providing a flexible load that shifts with demand. By coordinating these devices intelligently via software, we can meet rising electricity needs faster, cheaper and more adaptively than traditional plants—just as AI-driven demand strains the grid. - Nate Williams, Union Labs VC
16. Grid-Scale Energy Storage
Grid-scale energy storage is the key. Solar and wind are cheap but intermittent. Once batteries shift power reliably across time, the entire built environment changes, with buildings becoming assets, not liabilities. The downstream effects reshape consumption, too. When energy is abundant and storable, manufacturing returns to where demand lives. Aim for shorter supply chains, less shipping and more local options. - Mark Lewis, Netalico Commerce
17. Localized Manufacturing
One area I’m watching closely is localized manufacturing powered by renewable microgrids. This involves producing goods closer to where they’re used with clean energy, cutting waste and reshaping communities. As this scales, we’ll build and consume in shorter, smarter loops, resulting in less shipping, less waste and far stronger local resilience. - Michael Shribman, IMM Fund
18. Packaging
The shift that’s happening now is packaging that vanishes in weeks, not centuries. This includes seaweed wraps, mushroom foam and plant-based films. They work like plastic but disappear like leaves. This changes everything. No more landfills full of containers. No more ocean gyres. Companies are adopting it fast because consumers demand proof, not promises. We’re finally breaking up with petroleum-based waste. - Sabeer Nelliparamban, Tyler Petroleum Inc.
19. Circular Materials
One key area of innovation is circular materials, from bio-based plastics to carbon-negative building components. These breakthroughs shift us from a “take-make-waste” model to regenerative systems. As these materials scale, they’ll redefine how we build, manufacture and consume, making low-impact, durable design the new norm. - Magda Paslaru, THE RAINBOWIDEA
20. Advanced, Data-Driven ESG Reporting
A major innovation today is more advanced, data-driven ESG reporting. Better transparency helps investors evaluate real environmental and social risks. As this improves, companies are pushed to operate more responsibly, reshaping how we build, consume and invest for long-term stability. Ultimately, these improvements make sustainable choices more accessible and actionable for everyday investors. - Robert Cannon, MBA, CFF®, AIFA®, Experity Wealth