{"id":21849,"date":"2026-01-13T11:44:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T10:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etifor.com\/en\/?p=21849"},"modified":"2026-03-30T12:17:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T10:17:01","slug":"4-trend-del-2026-etifor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etifor.com\/en\/updates\/4-trend-del-2026-etifor\/","title":{"rendered":"The 4 trends for 2026 according to Etifor<\/span>"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>

Whether you work in corporate sustainability, tourism, or a public authority, in 2026 it will become increasingly difficult to address environmental challenges without starting from the <\/span>territory.<\/b> Local communities, ecosystems, production chains, and infrastructure become the concrete dimension through which to interpret impacts, risks, and opportunities related to climate, biodiversity, and natural resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this year, we will see growing attention paid to the <\/span>role of territories as management units<\/b> for key environmental sustainability issues: ecosystem conservation, the management of water resources, food supply chains, and the development of solutions to address territorial vulnerabilities and the resulting adaptation actions. In short, a return to the old slogan \u201c<\/span>Think globally, act locally<\/span><\/i>\u201d, but in a less ideological context, more mature in terms of knowledge and tools, and set within a very different geopolitical landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/span>

What did we learn from 2025?<\/h2><\/h1><\/span>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

2025 was a particularly intense year for those working in environmental sustainability. In the final weeks of the year, we saw the definitive approval of the <\/span>Omnibus I<\/b> package, which significantly resized and simplified the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (<\/span>CSRD<\/b>) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (<\/span>CSDDD<\/b>), as well as the postponement by a further year of the European Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (<\/span>EUDR<\/b>).<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, growing economic and geopolitical instability has pushed European institutions to reorient political and financial priorities towards <\/span>energy and raw materials self-sufficiency<\/b>, alongside security and defence, as demonstrated by the <\/span>ReArm Europe<\/span><\/a> plan. In this context, the energy and ecological transition must be addressed through the lens of <\/span>competitiveness<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

These changes do not concern the regulatory framework alone. The market is evolving structurally, adopting a more <\/span>pragmatic approach<\/b> to environmental issues: climate, biodiversity, and natural resources are no longer treated as separate domains, but as factors that directly affect operational risks, business continuity, and strategic decision-making.<\/span><\/p>\n

This pragmatism is reflected in the publication by European institutions of the <\/span>Water Resilience Strategy<\/b><\/a> and the<\/span> Bioeconomy Strategy<\/b><\/a>: two key areas for both sustainability and the competitiveness of the Union. A sign of a political direction that aims to support sectors capable of delivering environmental benefits and economic growth, while avoiding increased complexity and bureaucracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 2025 trends we focused on the development of a <\/span>Nature Positive economy<\/b>. In 2026, this pathway enters a more mature phase: <\/span>fewer statements of principle<\/b>, <\/span>greater attention to territory<\/b>, <\/span>water, biodiversity<\/b>, and <\/span>collective action<\/b>, with closer <\/span>cooperation between the public and private sectors<\/b> and communication more oriented towards addressing the vulnerabilities of cities, infrastructure and businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/span><\/div>
<\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/div><\/span>

Water Stewardship: a strategic approach to water management<\/h2><\/h1><\/span>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

The environment, the economy, food and energy security, and quality of life all depend on a stable and adequate supply of water. <\/span>Water stewardship<\/b> has now become a central element of European policies, as demonstrated by the publication of the <\/span>European Water Resilience Strategy<\/span><\/a> in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

Europe is the fastest-warming continent: according to the <\/span>European State of the Climate 2024<\/span><\/a>, the increase in average European temperature compared to the pre-industrial period is +2.4 \u00b0C, versus a global average of +1.3 \u00b0C. This results in <\/span>more frequent and intense extreme events<\/b>: prolonged droughts, floods, heatwaves and wildfires, whose consequences affect the real economy of countries. In Italy, for example, 34.8% of manufacturing companies are located in areas with high hydrogeological vulnerability, meaning they are exposed to significant hazards such as landslides and floods (Bank of Italy, 2022). Across Europe, 12% of the river network has exceeded the \u201csevere\u201d flood threshold and 30% the \u201chigh\u201d threshold. The consequences are direct: impacts on human health, interruptions to water and energy supply, and economic losses for businesses and agriculture.<\/span><\/p>\n

For companies as well, water will become central to environmental sustainability strategies. This resource is, in fact, a factor of risk and operational continuity that depends on the <\/span>catchment context<\/b> (availability, quality, competition between uses, governance, ecosystems), and its management requires an integrated approach and collaboration with relevant territorial stakeholders. In this context, standards such as the<\/span> AWS Standard<\/b><\/a>, a global framework for understanding water use and impacts and for working collaboratively and transparently towards sustainable water management at the catchment level; or the <\/span>CEO Water Mandate<\/b><\/a>, which defines a framework for collective action to engage the private sector in achieving water management objectives at basin scale, will gain increasing relevance.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/span>

In 2026 we expect:<\/h2><\/h1><\/span>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>