K&H sustainability index: good intentions remain, but measurability is disappearing

By: Trademagazin Date: 2026. 01. 08. 10:46

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Hungarian companies remain committed to sustainability goals, but fewer and fewer are able to accurately measure and quantify what they are achieving in this area, according to the latest results of the K&H Sustainability Index for the second half of 2025. The measurement and auditing subindex dropped to 10 points, the lowest value since the start of the research. This suggests that while companies’ sustainability efforts continue, monitoring and verifying results is increasingly taking a back seat.

Historical low in measurability

According to the research, the proportion of companies that operate or plan to introduce an environmentally focused management system (32%) has decreased by 10 percentage points, as has the proportion of companies that have independent sustainability certification (6%).

The proportion of companies measuring or planning to measure carbon emissions has increased slightly, but only one in ten companies is still trying to get an accurate picture of their emissions.

Only 4 percent of companies indicated a specific target date for achieving carbon neutrality. The proportion of companies reporting a sustainable portion of their sales or costs has further decreased (3%), meaning that sustainability results are increasingly less visible from a financial perspective.

The loosening regulatory environment also has an impact

The results are also in line with EU regulatory trends. In recent months, the EU has eased sustainability obligations on several points:

the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting) remains mandatory only for companies with over 1,000 employees, and its introduction is being postponed by two years,
the CSDDD (Corporate Due Diligence Directive) audit cycle will be every five years instead of annually, and its introduction is subject to further negotiation.

According to Levente Suba, K&H’s sustainability manager, “This does not necessarily mean that environmental goals are weakening, but rather that companies are prioritizing operational stability and competitiveness over compliance in the current economic environment. Sustainability has remained a value, but the tools of measurability and transparency have weakened.”

New challenge: what we don’t measure is harder to develop

“A significant number of companies still strive for responsible operation today, but the decline in numbers, indicators and certificates warns us that what we don’t measure is harder to develop in the long term. The future of sustainability now depends on how companies can reconnect intention and measurability in a challenging economic environment,”

– added Levente Suba.

According to the K&H Sustainability Index, it is not the sustainability approach that has disappeared among domestic companies, but its practical measurement that has weakened. The challenge for the next period is how companies can make their sustainability progress visible again in numerical terms, even within the simplified EU framework.

About the methodology
Since 2022, K&H has been conducting a comprehensive survey on sustainability among Hungarian companies twice a year, in spring and autumn. 360 representatives responsible for sustainability of medium and large companies with annual sales exceeding HUF 300 million were interviewed by telephone. A total of 5 composite sub-indices were created from the 51-question questionnaire, which provide an image of the attitude and activity of the company management, the existence of a written sustainability strategy, the measurement of the environmental footprint, and the company’s social responsibility. The weighted arithmetic average of these sub-indices forms the overall K&H Sustainability Index. The most recent data collection took place between October 8 and 31, 2025. It was prepared on behalf of the K&H Foundation for a Healthy Society.