Five surprises in the 2025 data

  1. A 110-point perception gap.

    Impact NPS (+24.14) and Risk NPS (−86.21) point in opposite directions — organizations see sustainability as beneficial and as a major threat at the same time.

  2. Awareness outperforms expectations.

    Paris Agreement awareness reaches β values as high as 1.128 — climate policy knowledge is a stronger driver of outcomes than the model anticipated.

  3. Goals, not pressure, drive disclosure.

    The Goals-to-Reporting pathway carries the largest effect size in the model (f² = 0.334) — formal goal-setting outweighs regulatory or market pressure as a driver of reporting.

  4. Knowing isn't doing.

    PCA shows operational implementation as a distinct dimension from formal sustainability knowledge — awareness does not automatically translate into practice.

  5. Priorities alone don't move strategy.

    The Priorities-to-Strategy link is comparatively weak (β = 0.137) — priorities need to pass through formal goals before they reshape strategy.

Direct effects

Paris Agreement awareness is the model's strongest single driver

Awareness has a significant, direct effect on all four downstream constructs:

β = 0.971

Sustainability Priorities

Greater awareness predicts stronger stated priorities, particularly in carbon management, waste management, and water conservation.

β = 0.771

Sustainability Goals

Awareness significantly predicts the formality and ambition of goal-setting.

β = 1.128

Sustainability Impact

The strongest relationship in the model — awareness translates directly into measurable sustainability outcomes.

β = 0.936

Sustainability Strategy

Awareness strongly predicts integration of sustainability into business models and strategic planning.

Indirect effects

Four pathways carry the awareness signal onward

PathwayEffect sizeWhat it means
Goals → Reporting f² = 0.334 Strongest effect on reporting practices — formal goal-setting drives transparency.
Goals → Strategy β = 0.287 Formalized goals produce stronger strategic integration of sustainability principles.
Priorities → Strategy β = 0.137 Significant but weak — priorities appear to route through formal goals to reach strategy.
Impact → Reporting β = 0.083 The weakest significant link — measured impact isn't the primary driver of disclosure.
Net Promoter Scores

Opportunity and threat, held at once

NPS is calculated as % Promoters minus % Detractors on a 0–10 scale. A positive score means promoters outnumber detractors; Egypt's two sustainability scores land on opposite ends of that spectrum.

Sustainability Impact NPS
+24.14

Most respondents view sustainability initiatives as having a favorable effect on their organization.

Sustainability Risk NPS
−86.21

A deeply negative score reflecting overwhelming concern about sustainability-related risk.

The contrast suggests Egyptian organizations are caught between two views at once: sustainability as opportunity, and sustainability as burden or threat — rather than having settled on either.

Structural model

Reading the full model

Path coefficients (β) with t-statistics; t > 1.96 indicates significance at p < 0.05.

Pathβ (t-value)Note
ParisAware → SustRisk−0.749 (3.660)Higher awareness is associated with lower perceived risk.
ParisAware → SustImpact1.128 (5.036)The strongest positive relationship in the model.
ParisAware → Priorities0.967 (5.375)
ParisAware → SustGoals0.441 (1.905)
ParisAware → Business Model1.076 (6.622)R² = 0.584 for Business Model integration.
Priorities → SustGoals0.383 (4.042)
SustGoals → Business Model0.276 (3.892)
SustGoals → SustReport0.323 (12.311)Highest t-value in the model.
Stakeholder Engagement → Business Model0.401 (2.094)Secondary relationship.
Board Discussion → Business Model0.195 (2.678)Secondary relationship.
CarbonPrior (priority component)0.742 (11.356)
WasteMgmt (priority component)0.872 (30.702)Strongest among priority components.
WaterSave (priority component)0.829 (13.090)

In the alternative model specification, the direct path from Paris Agreement awareness to Business Model implementation (β = 1.076) held up with the strongest overall statistical significance — a more realistic picture of how knowledge converts into action than the original specification.

Beyond the survey

What PCA and machine learning add

PC1 — Comprehensive Sustainability Integration

Captures how holistically an organization has embraced sustainability across strategy, operations, reporting, and governance. High scorers show integrated approaches rather than siloed initiatives.

PC4 — Operational Implementation vs. Theoretical Knowledge

Distinguishes organizations implementing practical measures for business reasons from those with formal ESG knowledge but limited operational follow-through.

ModelR² on test data
Random Forest0.1373
XGBoost0.0710

PC1 and PC4 together show meaningful predictive power for Sustainability Impact — reinforcing that execution, not just awareness, is what ultimately differentiates organizations.

Want the reasoning behind the numbers?

The methodology page walks through how each coefficient, effect size, and score was calculated.