UK ESG Fast Facts

IBISWorld presents a collection of fast facts on the ESG performance of different sectors of the UK economy.

Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 

Environmental

• According to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the latest data show that total agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in the UK have receded by 12% from 1990 to 2022. This reduction is attributed to a decline in livestock numbers and the decreased use of manufactured fertilisers. The 2024 Farm Practices Survey indicates that 58% of farmers in England believe it is crucial to consider greenhouse gases when making business decisions, while 39% do not regard it as important.
• In the latest Spending Review Defra has secured a funding commitment of over £2.7 billion from HM Treasury for sustainable farming and nature recovery for 2026-27 to 2028-29. Additionally, funding provided to farmers through the Environmental Land Management Schemes is set to expand by 150%, rising from £800 million in 2023-24 to £2 billion by 2028-29. This financial boost is aimed at supporting the national commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
• The UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP) 2025 outlines a strategy for managing pesticide use to minimise risks to environmental and human health, thereby ensuring a sustainable future. The plan includes a commitment to reduce the potential environmental harm caused by pesticides by at least 10% by 2030, ultimately improving soil health and water quality.

Social 

• Data from the ONS shows that in Q1 2025, the total workforce in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was 350,000, down from 371,000 in Q1 2024. A government report indicates that 64% of the UK’s agricultural labour force consists of farmers, business partners, directors, and their spouses, while the remaining 36% comprises regular employees, salaried managers, and casual workers.
• The sector also relies on workers coming from abroad to fill seasonal positions. In 2025, the government confirmed a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker Visa Scheme, whereby the government has made 43,000 visas available for the horticulture sector in 2025, with another 2,000 visas for poultry, to help maintain a resilient supply chain and national food security.
• According to the Financial Times, while the agricultural sector has traditionally been male-dominated, more women have recently begun securing top positions. For example, Minette Batters serves as the president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) of England and Wales. This shift is largely driven by the sector's technological transformation and focus on sustainable practices. Supporting this trend, the Royal Agricultural University in the UK has seen an uptick in female students, with women making up 46% of the cohort in the 2022-23 academic year, up from 42% in 2019-20.

Governance

• The farming industry has been subject to widespread lobbying and protests following the government’s decision to introduce a £1 million limit on the inheritance tax (IHT) relief for farms from April 2026, after that there would be a 50% relief, at an effective rate of 20%, which has struck uproar among British farmers as many cite this will threaten the survival of their farms. In May 2025, the NFU, along with 11 other industry bodies, signed a joint letter to the Chancellor calling on the Treasury to publish the government’s analysis of its IHT reform.
• On 19 May 2025, the UK and EU established a renewed cooperation agenda at a summit, focusing on fisheries within a broader political agreement. Post-Brexit, the UK regained control over its Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone, but due to shared fish stocks, Total Allowable Catch (TAC) agreements were necessary. The UK's TAC share increased under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (2021-2025), with EU access to UK waters set to expire in 2026. The new agreement stabilises stock division from June 2026, unless mutually altered, and grants reciprocal fishing access until 30 June 2038, as formalised by the Specialised Committee on Fisheries. This continues to drive competition and uncertainty over rule compliance by EU vessels.
• During the May summit, the UK and EU established a new Strategic Partnership, agreeing to work towards a Common Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Area for Great Britain. This agreement aims to streamline the administration of checks on agri-food traded between Great Britain and the EU, as well as between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, supporting trade relations.

Mining

Environmental

• In November 2024, the Coal Authority became the Mining Remediation Authority to better reflect the organisation’s role and scope. The Mining Remediation Authority's annual report for 2024 to 2025 reports that its work has helped protect and enhance the environment with 232 billion litres of capacity created or maintained to treat mine water, 3,682 tonnes of iron prevented from entering water courses and just 2.5% of the ochre and iron solid waste it generated being sent to landfill. Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has set a target to halve the 1,491 kilometres of rivers polluted by abandoned metal mines by the end of 2038.
• The mining sector is seeking to decarbonise operations, with the oil and gas industry investing in carbon capture and renewable energy, while the government is also providing funding to help the sector move towards greener operations. In October 2024, the government announced it had made available £21.7 billion in funding for the first Carbon Capture, Usage, and Storage (CCUS) projects in the UK. CCUS is a technology aimed at capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial processes, power plants, and other sources, preventing them from entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
• The Mining Remediation Authority sets a target to achieve net-zero carbon by 2030. In it’s 2024-25 report, as part of its efforts, it reports that it has enabled three large mine water heat schemes, which is a renewable energy system providing low-carbon heating for homes and buildings, albeit falling short of its target of four for 2025. 

Social

• The shift towards renewables and decline of the mining sector, including a ban on new licences, are having a significant impact on jobs in the UK, with trade union Unite criticising the unfavourable government policy in the North Sea. Published in June 2025, a study by Robert Gordon University titled ‘Striking the Balance: Building a Sustainable UK Offshore Energy Workforce’ states that the oil and gas workforce declined by about 5,000 jobs between 2023 and 2024, from 120,000 to 115,000 and if the current trend continues, this figure could plunge to between 57,000 and 71,000 by the early 2030s. Meanwhile, the workforce in the renewables segment will thrive and could climb from 39,000 to between 84,000 and 153,000 by 2035. Meanwhile, figures from Offshore Energies UK show that jobs in Scotland’s North Sea oil and gas industry have contracted by 13,400 in the past year. Between 2013 and 2023, the number of jobs in the industry plunged from 117,900 to 60,700. Critics warn that the country is becoming too reliant on imports.
• There is a focus on helping workers transition from mining to renewables. The UK government launched a tailored skills programme at the end of July 2025 aimed at supporting around 200 Aberdeen oil and gas workers’ shift to green energy opportunities. The Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund is part of the government’s Plan for Change and is backed by £900,000 of UK government funding.
• Health and safety are at the forefront of mining company operations. The Mining Remediation Authority's annual report for 2024 and 2025 highlighted its focus on safety and community well-being. It conducted 10,54 mine entry inspections and investigated over 1,000 mining hazards and subsidence claims to keep the public safe. However, it also reported that accidents and incidents increased from 10 in 2023-24 to 14 in 2024-25. It has set up a 2025 to 2028 health, safety and wellbeing plan focusing on the most high-risk activities and where it can make the biggest difference to support the health and wellbeing of workers and communities served.

Governance

• In the Autumn Budget 2024, the government confirmed the hike in the Energy Profits Levy (windfall tax) from 35% to 38%, removing the 29% investment allowance and extending the tax until the end of March 2030. The UK’s offshore energy industry association, Offshore Energies UK, has called for the government to remove the oil and gas windfall tax and replace it with a long-term mechanism, which could boost investment and strengthen the UK’s energy sector. The association states that recent ONS data shows profit for those investing in the oil and gas sector has turned negative. Many of the leading oil and gas companies lowered investment in the UK following the decision to hike taxes.
• Some companies in the sector have been under scrutiny over taxes. According to law firm Pinsent Masons, 14 oil and gas companies have been under investigation by the HMRC in relation to underpaying the Energy Profits Levy. Recently, the Financial Times reported that the government has called for an investigation into Prax Group, the owners of the Lindsey oil refinery since 2021, which filed for insolvency in June 2025, with hundreds of jobs at risk. It reports that the collapsed oil company owes the government up to £250 million in unpaid taxes. The site, which employed around 400 people, processed 96,600 barrels of oil a day in 2024.
• Oil and gas drilling has been controversial for quite some time, with climate campaigners voicing their concerns. In January 2025, following a case by environmental group campaigners, including Greenpeace, a court ruled that the approval for the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields was unlawful. The Guardian reported that a further 13 oil and gas licences could be scrapped following the court’s decision. In March 2025, as part of its ‘Building the North Sea’s Energy Future’ consultation, the government confirmed plans laid out in its election manifesto to halt new licenses on new oil and gas exploration; however, the consultation has also left the door open for new fields to be drilled via adjacent existing ones, a move which has been welcomed positively by the oil and gas industry.

Manufacturing

Environmental

• A 2024 report by Lloyds Bank and Make UK reveals a 48% increase in UK manufacturing companies adopting ESG targets since 2021. UK manufacturers not only impose ESG conditions on their suppliers but are also more frequently subject to such conditions from their customers. Notably, 24% of the manufacturing sector sets carbon-related procurement conditions, while 35% face carbon requirements from their customers. Challenges in meeting these ESG requirements include budget limitations, a lack of leadership vision, insufficient knowledge and competing business priorities.
• In June 2025, the government introduced the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan, aiming to boost clean energy investments to over £30 billion annually by 2035. The plan also allocates £700 million to Great British Energy to develop domestic manufacturing facilities for clean power technologies, facilitating the manufacturing sector's shift to renewable energy sources.
• As emission targets approach, companies are increasingly investing in renewable energy to reduce their carbon footprints. For example, manufacturer Kimberly-Clark is investing over £125 million in green hydrogen infrastructure to decarbonise two of its manufacturing plants. Green hydrogen will replace natural gas used in steam generation, aiming for a 50% reduction in Kimberly-Clark's natural gas consumption across UK production lines beginning in 2027. These projects are supported by funding from the UK government’s Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) and Net Zero Hydrogen Fund.

Social

• The sector has been grappling with significant labour shortages, worsened by the pandemic and Brexit, alongside a persistent skills deficit. According to the Make UK Manufacturing Outlook Q2 2025 report, as of April 2025, there were 49,000 active vacancies in the sector, down from 58,000 in the previous quarter. Despite this decrease, there is still an increasing urgency to develop skills within the industry and for government action to help bridge this gap.
• The UK's Modern Industrial Strategy 2025 sets out a 10-year framework aimed at boosting business investment and creating 1.1 million jobs, particularly within advanced manufacturing. The government is committed to enhancing skills through comprehensive reforms, including shorter apprenticeships and targeted upskilling and reskilling programs.
• As reported by ONS data, women constituted only 26.1% of the manufacturing workforce in 2024. The Women in Manufacturing Initiative UK aims to uplift female participation in the sector to 35% by 2035, helping to address labour shortages and promote industry growth.

Governance

• To advance the decarbonisation of industrial production, the UK will implement the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) starting in January 2027. This mechanism will impose a carbon price on high-emission industrial imports – specifically from the aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen and iron and steel industries - which are vulnerable to carbon leakage. UK exporters sending CBAM-sector goods to the EU will also encounter CBAM pricing and reporting obligations from 2026. Discrepancies between UK and EU carbon pricing may lead to additional costs and administrative complexities.
• In April 2025, the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill was passed, empowering the Secretary of State to safeguard the future of UK steelmaking. This includes overseeing British Steel's operations, securing raw materials and maintaining blast furnace activities. Although there are no plans to nationalise British Steel, the government is evaluating the potential financial implications for public funds.
• The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), Regulation (EU) 2023/988, is a new EU regulation that came into effect on 13 December 2024. It aims to ensure the safety of consumer products sold in the EU and Northern Ireland. Hence, UK manufacturers exporting products to these markets must comply with stricter GPSR safety requirements.

Utilities

Environmental

• The UK is committed to achieving a net-zero electricity system by 2030, as outlined in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. This plan targets the generation of 43-50 GW of offshore wind, 27-29 GW of onshore wind and 45-47 GW of solar power to significantly reduce the nation’s fossil-fuel reliance. Energy companies are required to boost low-carbon production and phase out fossil fuels, prompting increased investments in cleaner generation and storage. Centrica, a leading energy company, has committed to providing all its UK and Ireland customers with renewable or zero-carbon electricity by 2030. To meet this goal, Centrica plans to invest £600 to 800 million annually by 2028 in low-carbon generation, supply security and customer solutions, aiming to enhance green investments to over 50% between 2023 and 2028.
• The government is launching energy-efficiency initiatives to help households adopt low-carbon energy-saving measures to help achieve net-zero targets. As part of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, grants of £7,500 are available for installing heat pumps in homes across England and Wales. This initiative supports the goal of installing 600,000 heat pumps annually by 2028, contributing to the broader effort to decarbonise heating in residential and commercial buildings. In line with these targets, energy companies like Centrica are also setting ambitious goals, aiming to reach 20,000 heat pump sales per year.
• The government has established a goal for water companies to achieve zero pollution incidents and a 50% reduction in leakage by 2030, which is monitored by Ofwat. However, the latest Ofwat Water Company Performance Report 2023-24 indicates an increase in pollution incidents. Despite a sector commitment to reduce pollution by 20% during 2020-2025 and aiming for a 15% reduction from 2019 to 2022, only a 2% reduction has been achieved so far. In terms of leakage, companies have only achieved a reduction of 6% on an annual basis to date, against a target of 16% by 2025. In response, the government plans to partner with investors to allocate £104 billion in 2025 to upgrade ageing pipes and construct new sewage treatment facilities to reduce river pollution.

Social

• Energy companies are dedicated to ensuring energy affordability for low-income and vulnerable customers through government-led initiatives like the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Warm Home Discount. The ECO4 programme, which runs until 31 March 2026, focuses on enhancing energy efficiency in homes, particularly for low-income and vulnerable households. This initiative aims to improve insulation and heating, reduce fuel poverty and help households save on their annual energy bills by facilitating essential home upgrades.
• National Grid aims to support approximately 55,000 additional jobs by the end of the decade, focusing on creating green jobs to build a 'clean power army' of apprentice engineers, welders and technicians to ensure energy security by 2030. The government is advancing this effort with Regional Skills Pilots in Aberdeen, Cheshire, Lincolnshire and Pembrokeshire to enhance workforce development.
• National Grid is committed to fostering a gender-balanced, diverse and inclusive energy sector. It has set a specific target for women to hold at least 40% of middle management and leadership positions in the UK by 2030.

Governance

• In May 2025, the Great British Energy Bill was enacted, leading to the formation of a new publicly-owned energy company. With £8.3 billion in funding, GB Energy aims to fast-track the UK's transition to clean energy and bolster energy security. By co-investing and developing energy projects, it seeks to reduce energy costs and encourage private sector participation in green energy initiatives. The launch of GB Energy sets a new ESG benchmark for utility companies, offering a model for achieving net-zero and energy security objectives.
• The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced the dissolution of the water regulator Ofwat, paving the way for a new, consolidated regulatory body. This unified regulator will streamline water management by integrating the functions of Ofwat, the Environment Agency, Natural England and the Drinking Water Inspectorate. The goal is to reduce water pollution in England’s rivers, lakes and seas while shielding families from significant bill hikes. This reform aims to enhance transparency, improve data reporting and strengthen board-level governance, ultimately raising standards and boosting customer satisfaction in the water sector.
• The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 was enacted to reform the water industry by addressing critical issues like pollution and accountability. This legislation grants regulators enhanced authority to impose swift and stringent measures against water companies that harm the environment or fail their customers. It also empowers Ofwat to prohibit bonus payments to executives of underperforming water companies. This measure aims to redirect funds into the sector for improvement, particularly since water companies have awarded over £112 million in bonuses and incentives over the past decade, as reported by Defra. Thames Water is among six companies that have been banned from awarding bonuses to executives due to inadequate performance.

Construction

Environmental

• The construction sector significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions through embodied carbon in materials, operational emissions and demolition waste. The Construction Leadership Council's Construct Zero programme is developing new solutions to help the industry meet the national net-zero target by 2050. A crucial goal is to transition to zero-emission vehicles and onsite equipment, aiming to eliminate 78% of diesel-operated plant from construction sites by 2035. As a result, construction companies are rapidly adopting low-carbon solutions.
• According to Carbon Trust, the government aims for new homes to be built from 2025 to produce 75-80% fewer carbon emissions than current standards. Through the Future Homes Standard, construction companies will use low-carbon solutions like heat pumps and enhance energy efficiency in residential buildings to achieve this goal.
• To reduce embodied carbon in construction, developers are increasingly using sustainable materials. Balfour Beatty's 2024 Carbon Reduction Plan emphasises the adoption of low-carbon technologies to meet emission targets. For example, the company supports steel decarbonisation by using low-carbon EcoSheetPiles, produced with Electric Arc Furnace technology, resulting in just 370 kg CO2e per tonne – a 84% reduction compared to traditional methods.

Social

• The construction sector faces severe labour shortages, with over 35,000 job vacancies, according to ONS data. More than half of these vacancies go unfilled due to a skills gap, threatening the government's goal of delivering 1.5 million homes during this parliament. To address this, the government plans to train up to 60,000 more engineers, bricklayers, electricians and carpenters, supported by £100 million for 10 new Technical Excellence Colleges and £165 million to expand construction courses in existing colleges.
• According to the Construction Industry Training Board's (CITB) Labour Market Intelligence Report for the 2025-2029 period, the construction sector will require an additional 47,860 workers annually. Over the five years, this equates to a total of 239,300 new workers needed. To support this demand, the CITB has announced a £39 million investment in the National Construction College at Erith and other sites. This investment will significantly enhance the industry's value by expanding the training offerings available.
• Women remain underrepresented in the construction sector, but their numbers are rising. ONS data shows an increase from 286,000 in Q1 2024 to 336,000 in Q1 2025. The National Association of Women in Construction advocates for equity in the industry, offering networking opportunities to promote construction as a career path for women.

Governance

• In April 2025, the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) was established to streamline major infrastructure projects and implement a 10-year UK Infrastructure Strategy, with at least £735 billion in funding. NISTA offers clearer governance, improves accountability and ensures predictable planning. It also reforms project commissioning and procurement to align contracts with public strategy and goals.
• The Grenfell tragedy prompted significant changes in building safety, mainly through the Building Safety Act 2022, which enhances measures for high-risk buildings. This legislation established three new oversight bodies. The Building Safety Regulator oversees the safety and performance of all buildings, promoting competencies within the sector, including for building control professionals and tradespeople. The National Construction Regulator manages a stricter construction products regulatory regime, ensuring market surveillance and enforcement. The New Homes Ombudsman Scheme provides new-build homeowners with a platform to escalate complaints. These changes aim to improve accountability, risk management, compliance and enforcement, requiring construction companies to prioritise safety and transparency across all project stages.

Retail & Wholesale Trade

Environmental

• UK environmental regulation is tightening rapidly, especially concerning packaging waste and business recycling responsibilities. From March 2025, all non‑domestic premises in England must comply with mandatory waste separation and management rules. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme launches in October 2025, shifting the financial burden of packaging waste from local councils to packaging producers – including retailers and wholesalers. Under the scheme, retailers and wholesalers with an annual revenue above £1 million or packaging volume above 25 tonnes will be charged fees based on the volume, type and recyclability of packaging they place on the market, with higher charges for less recyclable materials. The companies must also report packaging data, pay disposal fees and meet mandatory recycling targets. Major chains like Marks & Spencer already anticipate an annual £40 million cost and the sector-wide burden could reach £2 billion.
• Environmental risk mounts as UK fashion dumps in protected areas. A June 2025 investigation has uncovered that discarded clothing from leading UK retailers – including M&S, Zara, Primark, Next and George at Asda – is ending up in dumps built within Ghana’s ecologically sensitive Densu Delta wetlands. Only about 30% of daily textile waste from Accra’s Kantamanto Market is processed in engineered landfills – leaving the rest to contaminate polluting wetlands, lagoons and local waterways and endangering the habitats of endangered turtles and migratory birds, clog waterways and disturb local fishermen. While brands cite recycling and take‑back schemes, the findings intensify calls for UK fashion firms to take responsibility for the full lifecycle of their products – a core tenet of ESG governance and environmental stewardship.
•  In July 2025, the UK Fashion & Textiles Association (UKFT), backed by Oxford Economics, unveiled a bold vision for a national textile recycling hub – comprising three automatic sorting plants (ATSPs) and a chemical recycling facility – anchored in the Circular Fashion Innovation Network (CFIN), in partnership with the British Fashion Council and UKRI. Once fully operational by around 2031, the hub is projected to divert nearly 150,000 tonnes of textile waste each year – including 50,000 tonnes processed via chemical recycling into new fibres – while saving over £24 million annually in landfill and incineration fees. The benefits to retailers are significant as the initiative aligns retail supply chains with Extended Producer Responsibility frameworks likely to become mandatory, reducing governance and regulatory risk. It also enables access to domestically sourced recycled fibre, supporting ESG reporting and circular product lines and helps promote brand sustainability credentials, job creation in host regions and consumer goodwill through backing UK green economy infrastructure.

Social

• UK regulators clamp down on imagery that risks consumer wellbeing. In a landmark enforcement of social responsibility standards, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two Zara adverts featuring models deemed "unhealthily thin" and therefore irresponsible under CAP Code rule 1.3. Advertising that normalises extremely thin body types risks promoting eating disorders or body dissatisfaction among vulnerable groups. The ruling reflects growing public and regulatory scrutiny of how retailers portray body image and the potential harm of promoting unattainable ideals. This follows similar rulings against Marks & Spencer and Next, signalling escalating ASA attention on fashion ads that may perpetuate harmful body standards. Brands like Zara, M&S and Next face reputational damage when regulators label advertising as ‘irresponsible,’ especially as consumers demand inclusivity.
• Employment Rights Bill changes praised for safeguarding youth and entry‑level work. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) welcomed amendments to the UK's Employment Rights Bill proposed by the House of Lords, describing them as “positive, practical and pragmatic” measures to protect local, flexible part‑time and entry‑level jobs across the UK retail sector. Key changes include replacing the original ‘day one’ unfair dismissal rights with a six-month qualifying period and transforming the right to guaranteed hours after 12 weeks into a right to request them. The revisions help preserve the flexibility and accessibility of part-time jobs, many of which are critical to youth, seasonal and local workers. With half of the sector’s workforce in flexible roles, retailers warn that the remaining provisions of the Bill, particularly around guaranteed hours, still risk undermining flexible employment – a vital feature of the retail labour market, where roughly half of the 3 million retail jobs are part‑time.

Governance

• Governance is under pressure as retailers are hit by cyber attacks. In August 2025, Chanel and Pandora are the latest UK retailers hit amid a fast‑evolving cyberwave with breaches exposing customer data like names, birthdates and email addresses. These incidents follow a wave of earlier attacks in April and May 2025 that targeted Marks & Spencer, Co‑op and Harrods. The M&S breach disrupted online orders and contactless payments for around six weeks, triggered an estimated £300 million in profit losses and exposed customer data. Co‑op’s systems were partially shut down as a precaution, though around 6.5 million member records were later confirmed stolen. Harrods also faced disruptions after attempting to block an intrusion that had begun in late April. As organised threat groups like Scattered Spider and DragonForce exploit third‑party and system weaknesses, cybersecurity and data protection have emerged as critical governance challenges – and essential social safeguards – to maintain consumer trust and operational resilience or risk further ESG fallout.
• A surge in counterfeit cosmetics threatens UK brands and consumer safety. In July 2025, consumer watchdog Which? revealed that around 67% of branded beauty items bought from online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, TikTok Shop and Vinted were probably fake. Counterfeits mimicking brands like Charlotte Tilbury, MAC, La Roche‑Posay and Maybelline were often contaminated with dangerous substances like lead, mercury or arsenic – and occasionally even animal waste. Every counterfeit item sold diverts sales away from legitimate UK retailers and authorised stockists. When consumers associate poor-quality or harmful products with established brands – even if they’re knock‑offs – it undermines trust and brand integrity. UK regulators urged to enforce stronger anti‑counterfeiting measures.

Transportation & Warehousing

Environmental

• According to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, surface transport is the UK's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 25% of the total. Cars contribute 59% of this, HGVs 19% and vans 18%, with smaller amounts from buses, motorcycles and rail. For the 7th Carbon Budget (2038-2042), the Climate Change Committee (CCC) projects that surface transport emissions must drop by 86% from 2023 levels by 2040.
• As the transport sector progresses toward decarbonization and the 2030 deadline for phasing out new petrol and diesel car sales, the UK government has ramped up investment in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. In June 2025, the Chancellor announced a £2.6 billion funding package to decarbonise transport over the next three years. This includes £1.4 billion to support the adoption of electric vehicles, including zero-emission vans and HGVs. Also, £400 million will be dedicated to expanding charging infrastructure.
• In 2025, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validated Transport for London’s (TfL) near- and long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. Aligned with the Paris Agreement's goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, TfL aims for a 90% reduction in carbon emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) across its operations by 2030.

Social

• The 2025 Women in Transport Equity Index reveals that women represent 27% of the sector's workforce. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) score has dropped to 47% from 50% in 2023. Moreover, 59% of transport organisations report a gender pay gap of 11% or more, with 65% of UK organisations lacking plans to address this issue, up from 44% in 2023. Women in Transport is urging the Government, industry leaders and regulators to take urgent action, including mandating gender and ethnicity pay gap audits.
• In its 2024 UK Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gap Report, FirstGroup announced a commitment to double the proportion of women in its First Bus workforce to 20% by 2028 as part of its International Women’s Day pledge. Also, as of April 2024, First Bus became a Real Living Wage employer, benefitting over 1,300 employees with pay increases. In September 2024, South Western Railway, a part of FirstGroup, launched a recruitment campaign to boost the number of women train drivers. Other transport companies are also enhancing their recruitment strategies to foster a more diverse and representative workforce.
• The warehouse sector is prioritising health and safety to ensure workplace well-being. In April 2025, the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) partnered with Mentor Training to host an event focused on best practices in workplace safety. To further elevate standards, the UKWA has introduced a Certificate of Professional Competence for Warehouse Managers, featuring a dedicated module on workplace safety.

Governance

• The Transport Committee has launched an inquiry to investigate and enhance standards for taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs), addressing concerns about inconsistent regulations across different regions. The inquiry will focus on improving nationwide consistency in accessibility, safety and passenger safeguarding. The committee is accepting evidence for the ‘Licensing Reform of Taxis and PHVs’ inquiry until 8 September 2025.
• In 2025, the government's Sustainable Aviation Fuel Mandate sets a goal for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to comprise 2% of total fossil jet fuel, approximately 230,000 tonnes. This target will climb to 10% by 2030 and 22% by 2040. To support this initiative, the government has announced an additional £400,000 in funding to help producers bring new clean fuels to market more quickly.
• The Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 enables the nationalisation of passenger rail services, leading to South Western Railway coming under public control in May 2025. Its operations now fall under Great British Rail, transitioning governance from private to public sector and altering ESG reporting frameworks.

Accommodation & Food Services

Environmental

• The hospitality sector is showing increased commitment to sustainability initiatives, making practices more eco-friendly. The sector’s trade body, UKHospitality, outlines the commitment to be net zero by 2040, including eliminating unnecessary single-use packaging by 2025 and reducing food waste by 50% by 2030. Some are using advanced technology to achieve greater efficiency. For instance, Marriott Hotels has rolled out Winnow AI across UK, Ireland and Nordics hotels, achieving a food waste reduction of 25% in the first half of 2024, with a target of reaching 50% reduction in 2025.
• According to Biffa’s report on the UK Hospitality sector and sustainability in 2024, published in December 2024, 91% of businesses have a sustainability strategy in place or in planning. It also highlights that 66% of hospitality SMEs measure food waste, compared to only 41% of corporate-sized hospitality businesses. Further, 90% of businesses say they’re focused on the circular economy.
• As part of the government’s Plan for Change, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is trialling an initiative to provide over 600 SMEs in the hospitality sector with free energy and carbon reduction assessments, saving the hospitality sector £3 million on bills.

Social

• Hospitality businesses are some of the worst affected by the changes implemented in the Autumn Budget 2024, including tax hikes and higher employee costs, mainly the increase in employer NICs. Additionally, from 1 April 2025, the National Living Wage for those aged 21 and over became £12.21, up from £11.44 in the previous year, placing further pressure on hospitality businesses, which employ low-skilled, low-paid staff. Figures from the ONS released in July 2025 show that the sector lost 84,000 jobs since October 2024, highlighting the devastating impact. This figure could reach 200,000 by the end of March 2026, according to UKHospitality. A May 2025 survey by hospitality associations, including UKHospitality, The British Institute of Innkeeping, the British Beer & Pub Association and Hospitality Ulster, has found that about a third of hospitality venues were operating at a loss amid the tax hikes (minimum wage and NICs) from April. The survey found that about 60% have been forced to cut jobs, while 63% lowered staffing hours to reduce costs.
• Labour shortages in the hospitality sector remain. The vacancy rate in the food and accommodation industry in the three months to May 2025 reached 79,000, equivalent to 3.1 vacancies per 100 workers in the sector and above the average of 2.3 vacancies across all industries.
• The sector is heavily reliant on young workers. Biffa’s report on the UK Hospitality sector and sustainability in 2024 reveals that workers aged 16 to 24 years make up around 50% of employees in some hospitality roles, including waiters and waitresses (50%), bar staff (48%) and coffee shop workers (48%). However, there has also been a rise in the number of older individuals working in the sector – about a third of workers were over the age of 50, according to the report.

Governance

• The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 came into force on 1 October 2024. Under the legislation, food and drink establishments are required to pass 100% of service charges to staff.
• The Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Act received Royal Assent in April 2025, making provisions for a permanently lower business rate multiplier for hospitality businesses. The legislation will be implemented from April 2026, with UKHospitality calling for the maximum discount to be applied to hospitality sites with a rateable value of less than £500,000.
• A potential government red tape cut could boost UK tourism, and by extension, accommodation and food-service businesses. The Plan for Change government initiative could introduce measures, including removing barriers preventing small businesses, like B&Bs and restaurants, from working together to create tailored UK holiday experiences. This would make it easier for businesses (like hotels, attractions and restaurants) to bundle offers together, boosting the appeal of staycations.

Information

Environmental

• Given the amount of energy requirements, the telecoms sector is increasing its efforts to reduce waste and consumption. Larger operators have set various sustainability targets, like Vodafone’s aim to cut carbon emissions from UK operations to net zero by 2027, investing millions in the process. Similarly, telecom giant BT unveiled its Climate Transition Plan 2025 at the end of March 2025, aiming to reach net zero across its full value chain by March 2041.
• Under the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the UK government released a report in January 2025 on the progress of its Greening Government ICT commitments, as outlined in the Greening Government Commitments 2021 to 2025 framework. It states that emissions from government IT dropped by 9% in 2023 and 2024 compared to 2022 and 2023 levels, while e-waste in 2023 and 2024 dipped by 17% from 2022 and 2023.
• Prominent UK broadcasters like the BBC and Channel 4 have reaffirmed their sustainability commitments, with targets of reaching net zero by 2030.

Social

• BT’s Openreach reported a rise in incidents, highlighting potential workplace health and safety concerns. The company reported 450 incidents of assault or abuse against engineers in the year to March 2025, an 8% climb on the previous year. As a result, engineers are now piloting panic alarms as a preventative measure.
• The information sector is still lagging behind others when it comes to workforce diversity. According to the Diversity in Tech: Landscape Research Findings report from December 2024, women comprise only 21% of tech teams. Meanwhile, only 9% of tech employees come from lower socio-economic backgrounds, highlighting the need for the sector to do more in this regard and fix these gaps.
• Skills gap in technology is a major topic, particularly given the significant pace of technological innovation. Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2024 research, published in September 2024 by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, states that approximately 390,000 businesses (27%) have gaps in advanced skills – skills that aren’t outsourced and are considered important. It also estimates that 30% of cyber firms in 2024 have faced a problem with a technical skills gap, which is a worrying number given the growing prevalence of cyber attacks. Nonetheless, this figure is lower than the estimated 49% in 2023. It is also worth noting that the skills gap for cryptography and communication security has increased from 12% in 2023 to 24% in 2024. The National Audit Office also highlights that one in three cyber security roles in government were vacant or filled by temporary staff in 2023-24.

Governance

• In April 2025, Ofcom finalised the new child safety measures for sites and apps to introduce from 25 July 2025, ordering firms to act to prevent children from seeing harmful content online, under the Online Safety Act. Reflecting the complexities in supervising digital content amid the implementation of the Online Safety Act, Ofcom is expanding its workforce by 20% to over 550 staff by March 2026.
• The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA), which is planned to be phased in between June 2025 and June 2026, changes data protection laws in order to promote innovation and economic growth and make things easier for organisations, while still protecting people and their rights. DUAA amends, but doesn’t replace, the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. As such, companies in the sector must strengthen internal governance to ensure transparency, accountability and trust in data handling practices.
• UK’s cyber security watchdog, the National Cyber Security Centre, warns businesses to update and strengthen encryption methods by 2035 as they should prepare for a heightened risk of quantum computer hacking, though quantum computing is still in its very early stage.

Finance & Insurance

Environmental

• Governance of environmental risk weakens at the Bank of England. In June 2025, in a candid reflection on environmental governance, several senior staff at the Bank of England stepped down from climate and nature-risk roles after observing a significant downgrade in the institution’s prioritisation of environmental threats. These resignations underscore a growing tension between the escalating urgency of ecological emergencies and the perceived retreat in supervisory focus within one of the UK’s most influential financial institutions. The departures signal a worrying trend – as central bankers shift away from environmental stewardship, financial stability may be undermined by blind spots in the oversight of climate-related and biodiversity risks. This erosion of environmental governance could hamper efforts to mitigate the systemic threats posed by the climate crisis and raise questions about the resilience of regulatory frameworks across the UK’s finance and insurance sectors.
• A wave of high‑profile departures from the UN‑backed Net‑Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) has been set in motion, with UK giants HSBC and Barclays followed by Switzerland’s UBS. These banks cite the diminishing effectiveness of the alliance – after many global peers have quit – as rendering the group "no longer fit for purpose". Yet all reaffirm their individual commitment to reaching net‑zero by 2050, emphasising they now possess in‑house capabilities to meet climate goals independently. Initiating a collective climate initiative raises questions about the resilience of voluntary alliances and the sincerity of long-term ESG strategies. Climate credibility used to lean on shared targets and peer validation, but it now rests on firms’ own methodologies –heightening the importance of transparency and accountability. Investors, regulators and clients may also demand more rigorous, evidence-based roadmaps and independent validation in place of group affiliation cues.

Social

• Pay parity in UK finance is not expected until 2038. Women across UK financial and insurance services earn significantly less than men – on average, just 78 pence for every pound paid to men, Bloomberg and Government data reports in 2025. Despite marginal gains year‑on‑year, progress remains painfully slow, with pay parity not expected until around 2038. While investment banking shows the largest reported pay gaps, insurance firms are also grappling with long-standing disparities in pay and representation. Despite continued participation in initiatives like the Women in Finance Charter, some firms failed to meet their internal diversity targets in 2024. Around 20 financial services companies, including insurers, cited hiring freezes and organisational restructuring as key reasons. These figures underscore systemic inequalities: women are under‑represented in senior roles – across the FTSE 100, women make up 23% of chief financial officers, chief operating officers, divisional bosses or are already chief executives. This under‑representation compounds pay disparities, reflecting both persistent occupational segregation and barriers to advancement. Persistent inequalities can erode morale and tarnish the reputation of institutions, making it harder to attract and retain female talent. With voluntary efforts faltering, regulators and stakeholders may demand stronger accountability through mandatory reporting, targets and links between executive pay and diversity performance.
• In March 2025, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) abandoned plans to introduce mandatory diversity and inclusion (DEI) rules for financial firms. This U-turn comes after industry objections citing regulatory burdens and costs. Critics warn that stepping back from enforceable DEI standards risks undermining progress toward inclusion and may embolden firms to deprioritise representation efforts. The move mirrors a trend seen in the United States, where DEI initiatives have faced political backlash. Without compulsory DEI reporting or targets, underrepresentation of women and minorities may persist – or even worsen. Firms now have less external pressure to act on equity, reducing accountability. Despite this shift, regulators emphasise they still intend to address non‑financial misconduct, including harassment and bullying, by mid‑2025 –   signalling continued focus on culture, if not on formal DEI mandates.
• UK financial services staff suffer above-average health decline. 2024 research by Unum UK underscores a pressing issue: UK financial services employees face significantly more health-related challenges than their counterparts across other industries. Around 38% reported worsening physical health last year, compared to just 24% across the UK economy and 37% took time off for general health issues, surpassing the national average of 29%. In response, over half of these firms plan to increase investment in employee well-being this year. Wellbeing is fast becoming a critical KPI- not merely optional. Firms lagging in this area risk reputational damage or falling behind in ESG and HR standards. This signals a growing recognition that nurturing staff health is essential – not just ethically but strategically, as poor wellbeing erodes performance, morale and resilience across the sector.

Governance

• In June 2025, the UK government has unveiled the Leeds Reforms, outlined in its Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness sector plan, aiming to “rewire” the financial system, enhance investment, foster skilled jobs and make the UK the top global financial services hub by 2035. Key reform highlights include plans to cut “unnecessary costs” related to accountability rules for senior bankers, where the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) will be streamlined by approximately 50%, easing obligations on firms and to launch an advertising campaign to get consumers investing cash savings in stocks. By encouraging savers to invest, the reforms may broaden capital access for businesses and improve individual financial resilience.
• In May 2025, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation proposing to strip “ineffective, outdated or duplicated” provisions from its insurance rulebook. This move aims to reduce regulatory burdens on insurers – particularly those serving larger commercial clients – while maintaining protections for consumers and smaller businesses. Key changes include redefining “large commercial customers” to exempt them from certain conduct rules, shifting product reviews from fixed annual cycles to risk-based intervals, freeing resources – but must ensure risk monitoring remains effective. Insurers collaborating to design insurance products can streamline compliance by appointing a single lead insurer, though that insurer will bear full responsibility for any governance shortfall and scrapping minimum training hours in favour of competency standards. While the reforms promise efficiency gains and greater flexibility, they also place more responsibility on firms’ own governance frameworks to safeguard consumers - raising the stakes for internal oversight and risk management.

Real Estate & Rental & Leasing

Environmental 

• According to the Centre for Cities, about 12% of commercial properties in the UK missed an energy rating deadline in 2023, with buildings in the UK facing stringent deadlines to upgrade energy efficiency ratings by the end of the decade, as reported by the Financial Times. An article by the Financial Times from October 2024 has stated that a significant amount of property assets face being “stranded”, echoing comments made by former central banker Mark Carney, with substantial costs for upgrading buildings to required standards. In its 2023-24 reports, British Land stated that retrofitting its portfolio would cost £100 million to meet EPC ratings of A or B by 2030. It is making progress on that front, with 68% of its portfolio rated EPC A or B in 2024-25, up from 58% in the prior year. Meanwhile, Land Securities launched a £135 million net zero transition investment plan in November 2021. Knight Frank estimates from September 2024 showed that circa 70% of floor space in England and Wales had an EPC rating of C or below. As such, the Financial Times estimates that about £700 billion worth of non-residential building stock is at risk.
• The Climate Change Committee’s Seventh Carbon Budget, published in February 2025, states that commercial and public real estate emissions need to drop by 87% by 2040 compared with 2023 for the UK to reach its 2050 net zero target. The report states that non-residential buildings accounted for 5% of UK emissions in 2023.
• Energy-efficient buildings bring more returns for investors. CBRE’s Sustainability Index 2024 shows that since the index started in Q1 2021, energy-efficient commercial property assets have recorded total returns of 16.2% compared with 11.2% for inefficient ones. According to JLL, in 2025, about 40% of the UK office development pipeline is targeting net zero, with low-carbon buildings becoming standard and asset owners having to upgrade existing building stock to remain competitive and meet rising market expectations. 

Social

• Women in the real estate sector remain underrepresented in senior leadership positions at agencies. According to Deloitte, in April 2024, women represented just 14.5% of the total positions at the C-suite level. Many women are facing barriers to progression and are leaving the sector amid career stagnation, inflexibility and male-dominated cultures.
• Gender pay differences are also prevalent. JLL’s 2025 report states that while pay gaps are narrowing, the real estate sector shows larger gaps than other industries. Analysis of top firms by Property Week from April 2024 found that the median gender pay gap was 22.8%, down from 24.8% in 2022.
• Continuously rising rents across the UK are causing severe pressure on tenants, particularly younger and older people who have squeezed budgets, with properties in the UK becoming unaffordable. Meanwhile, landlords claim high mortgage rates and taxes are pushing prices up. Savills forecasts that rents will rise by 17.6% between 2025 and 2029, outpacing wage growth forecasts. 

Governance

• Net-zero mandates and growing sustainability regulation targets are putting pressure on the sector. The government has laid out a target for commercial buildings to reach an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of B by April 2030. From that date, a commercial property with a lower rating cannot be let. This is part of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), introduced first in 2023. However, the government is planning to amend MEES for commercial real estate, with CBRE stating in June 2025 that this may involve raising MEES to a minimum EPC rating of B after 2030 but before 2035. Analysis by CBRE from 2022 found that around 60% of commercial stock could fail to comply with the 2030 deadline, highlighting the challenge for properties to meet the target in time. It also estimates that 58% of office stock, in terms of square feet, in Central London has EPC ratings below B.
• The Renters’ Rights Bill, which is set to transform the market and introduce increased protections for tenants like the removal of “no fault” evictions, is causing many landlords to exit and drawing some criticism from the real estate market. A survey of 250 UK letting agents by Alto has found that 70% have seen some of their landlords already selling off properties, while 93% were concerned about losing independent landlord clients directly as a result of the Renters’ Rights Bill. An exodus of landlords could create a drop in supply, putting upward pressure on rent prices and causing further controversy.
• Property assets with strong ESG credentials and transparent governance attract the most investment. The UK ranked first in the JLL Global Real Estate Transparency Index 2024, the global real estate industry’s most widely used benchmark for assessing market transparency and guiding cross-border investors, lenders, developers and occupiers of real estate. The UK ranked first in four out of the six factors, including investment performance, listed vehicles, regulatory and legal, and transaction process. Markets showing the greatest transparency will continue to pull ahead and be favoured by investors. 

Professional, Scientific & Technical Services 

Environmental

• Analysis from a survey of 100 UK-based law firms by Greenarc reveals that only about 51% of legal firms listed sustainability as a priority and 66% claimed they had sustainability targets in place. However, this lags behind other areas, with 92% of firms placing cybersecurity as the top focus area, followed by cost management (81%) and digital transformation (68%).
• Within the professional services sector, sustainability initiatives are of growing importance as sustainability commitments and performance help attract and retain clients and talent. Failure to set out a clear sustainability strategy could result in reduced competitiveness. A July 2025 report on sustainability and ESG in the top 50 UK law firms by Saffery states that 48 out of the 50 firms have set climate-related goals, though just nine have committed to carbon reduction by 2030 or net zero by 2050. However, the report also highlights that 34% of all firms still don’t publish an annual Responsible Business report and just 14% have conducted a sustainability materiality assessment.
• Accounting firms have also stepped up their game to showcase strong environmental commitments. For instance, in its 2024 UK Sustainability Report, Forvis Mazars brought forward its net zero emissions target across its operations and value chain from 2050 to 2045, highlighting its strong commitments to ESG. According to NatWest’s Accountancy Benchmarking Report 2024, 41% of firms stated ESG issues were regarded as a moderate priority, while 36% stated it is one of their stronger priorities.

Social

• With evolving ESG reporting regulations, accounting firms face growing responsibilities and pressure to meet requirements. However, various reports state that there is a growing shortage of skilled accountants in the UK, which could pose a potential challenge for firms to manage these increasingly complex reporting regulations. Given the skills gap in the industry and firms’ changing needs, ICAEW has announced it will update its ACA qualification from September 2025 to address evolving demands in business, finance and accountancy.
• Two of the Big Four accounting firms, EY and PwC, are set to fall short of their 2025 targets for female partner representation in the UK. While Deloitte and KPMG have already met their UK targets, the two firms are on track to miss their global partnership targets. The Big Four have all set targets to increase their proportions of female partners, which would help in reducing their gender pay gaps.
• Pay gap and female representation issues continue to plague the professional services sector, with law firms, consultancies and accounting firms often scrutinised. The Financial Times reports that a study by the International Bar Association on 170,000 lawyers across five continents shows women make up 47% of all lawyers, but account for only 38% of lawyers in senior positions. The gap between women in the profession and those in leadership positions is particularly pronounced in England and Wales.

Governance

• The accounting industry continues to face regulatory changes. The Financial Times reports that the government is “exploring scrapping promised stricter audit rules for private companies” as it seeks to lessen the burden on companies in an attempt to boost economic growth. It reports that the government is discussing “ditching a measure that would force the Big Four accounting firms to share audits of the largest companies with smaller firms”. Previously, accounting firms have been sceptical of the proposed shared audits, claiming it would hike fees and could duplicate work. Meanwhile, from 1 September 2025, accountancy firms face a new regulation called Failure to Prevent Fraud, which comes under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act. It makes organisations criminally liable if an employee or agent commits fraud for the company’s benefit, unless it proves it had reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place at the time.
• The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has ordered audit firms to disclose approaches from private equity (PE) amid a trend of PE firms investing in the UK accounting industry and the potential risks this brings, including eroding audit firms’ independence in auditing large companies’ accounts, as per the Financial Times.
• Accounting firms continue to face pressure from the industry regulator, the FRC, to raise the quality of audits. Some of the recent investigations and fines for big firms include EY being investigated over its audits of the Post Office in the period 2015 to 2018 and Deloitte’s audit work on Glencore plc for the period 2013 to 2020. Nonetheless, according to the FRC’s Annual Review of Audit Quality 2025, 86% of the 104 audits inspected required no more than limited improvements, a marked increase from the 74% in 2023-24 and a step forward in terms of audit quality. However, some still lag behind, with BDO being singled out. Many firms are adopting advanced tech to help boost audit quality. However, as reported by AccountancyAge, the FRC has raised concerns that the Big Four audit firms in the UK, alongside challengers like BDO and Forvis Mazars, have introduced AI and automated tools into their workflows without formally assessing the effects on audit quality.

Education

Environmental

• The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) continues to be a vital grant avenue for schools aiming to install energy-efficient upgrades – like heat pumps, solar arrays and electric heating systems. In June 2025, the UK government confirmed that no new funding will be allocated to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme beyond projects already awarded, even as it heralds continued support for ongoing initiatives through Salix Finance. This decision follows the latest Spending Review and leaves both local authorities and public organisations without further support for new energy‑efficiency or low‑carbon projects beyond the current pipeline. Launched in 2020 and administered by Salix Finance on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the scheme has disbursed over £3.5 billion across nearly 1,400 grants, supporting measures like low‑carbon heating, improved insulation and other energy‑saving upgrades in public estates. While over £1 billion remains earmarked for investment across Phase 3c (until March 2026) and Phase 4 (until March 2028), no new projects beyond this timeframe will receive backing.
• In May 2025, the Department for Education reaffirmed targets to reduce emissions from the education estate by 75% by 2037 and reach net‑zero by 2050 – making 2025 a pivotal year for reflection and strategic planning. The government’s new requirements for climate action planning mark a decisive shift from voluntary sustainability commitments to statutory obligations. This is not simply a “green” initiative – it’s a governance challenge that will demand new skills, new budget allocations and new reporting structures. By September 2025, every educational institution – whether a small rural primary or a major university – must have a formal Climate Action Plan mapping emissions reductions, adaptation measures and energy efficiency steps, as well as a designated sustainability lead responsible for delivery and monitoring. For institutions, this means schools might retrofit heating systems, install solar panels, or overhaul waste processes. Colleges could integrate sustainability into procurement, ensuring suppliers meet emissions standards. Universities may expand research and training on climate solutions, linking operational practice with academic expertise.

Social

• Low pay and excessive workloads undermine teacher retention. A recent cross‑country review spearheaded by Universitas 21 and supported by the University of Nottingham reveals a mounting social challenge in education. Low pay, heavy workloads and diminished professional status are driving sustained teacher shortages in the UK, a study by Universitas 21 and the University of Nottingham reveals. The report emphasises that while many governments and education authorities have introduced pay rises, incentive payments, bursaries and workload-reduction initiatives, these efforts lack consistent impact assessments. As a result, strategies remain largely unvalidated – potentially perpetuating ineffective or inequitable policies. Crucially, the shortage of teachers is most acute in marginalised and underserved communities, notably in rural areas and within STEM and special education fields.
• Ofsted’s annual report warns that while education and social care professionals are working tirelessly under immense pressure, systemic strain is hitting vulnerable and disadvantaged children hardest, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), who face inconsistent support and delayed interventions due to weak partnership working, poor data use and patchy commissioning. Recruitment and retention crises across classrooms, nurseries, colleges and care settings are compounding these issues, deepening attendance gaps and leaving learning fragmented. The regulator highlights the persistence of “childcare deserts” in disadvantaged areas and a shortage of foster carers and children’s homes, with many young people placed far from families and communities due to poor geographic distribution of provision. Governance concerns extend to safeguarding, with rising flexi-schooling, unregistered settings and non-compliance with rules requiring every school to appoint a qualified SENCo. In response, the regulator reformed its own approach – scrapping one-word judgements in favour of more detailed school report cards from September 2024 and planning changes to social care inspections by 2026. This signals that governance reform must go hand in hand with addressing the root causes of inequity in education and care.

Governance

• Governing bodies urged to reassess oversight on fiscal leakages. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Treasury misjudged parental reaction to the introduction of VAT on private school fees. Forecasts estimated only £90 million of advance payments would evade tax – but in reality, parents poured a staggering £515 million into prepayment schemes across the 50 largest schools. This overwhelming response highlights a serious flaw in the policy’s design and underscores broader issues around fiscal forecasting, stakeholder behaviour and policy resilience. It also hints that there was likely inadequate risk analysis, underestimated behavioural responses and gaps in regulatory oversight that allowed significant tax avoidance. For policymakers and education leaders alike, it reinforces the need for governance frameworks that better anticipate reactions and close loopholes before policy rollout. In this case, the VAT’s revenue-generating goal is now under threat – not just financially, but reputationally, as the government is seen as out of touch with real-world incentives.
• The Office for Students (OfS) has flagged mounting financial fragility across the sector. Lower international enrolments and higher labour costs threaten university budgets, putting over 10,000 jobs at risk. Nearly 75% of institutions are projected to run a deficit in the 2025-26 academic year. The government has pitched in with £1.5 million to aid, while regulators are intensifying engagement with finance directors and lenders.
• A newly proposed 6% levy on tuition fees from international students, introduced in the Home Office's immigration white paper, could cost English universities a staggering £621 million annually, according to research by the Higher Education Policy Institute. This charge is effectively a “tax” on one of the few remaining robust revenue streams for universities and threatens to erode institutional budgets unless passed directly onto students. Elite institutions would bear the brunt: University College London might shoulder a £43 million hit, University of Manchester £27 million, Imperial College London £22 million and Oxford £17 million. University leaders are warning that this levy could blunt the UK's international appeal, prompting prospective students to look elsewhere and undermining global competitiveness.
• As the US ramps up its scrutiny of student visas, introducing social‑media vetting, extended pauses and revocations, many international students – particularly from India and China – are reconsidering their study plans. This regulatory turbulence is causing new international enrolments in the US to potentially drop by 30-40% this autumn, US universities note. In response, UK universities are witnessing a rebound. According to data from UniQuest, which works with many British universities on admissions, international undergraduate applications are up 2.2%, including a 10% rise from China and a 14% spike in applicants from the US, a 20‑year high. Graduate programme acceptances are also gaining traction, buoyed by strong demand in business and management disciplines. Between January and May 2025, the UK saw a 29 % surge in study visa applications of 76,400 applicants compared to the previous year, despite recent tightening of post‑study work benefits. This resurgence occurs even amid tougher immigration rules, stricter checks and reduced perks, highlighting the UK’s sustained appeal in the eyes of international students.

Healthcare & Social Assistance

Environmental

• Environmental sustainability is missing from early 10-Year Health Plan debates. Integrating sustainability into the NHS is not only essential for tackling climate change, it’s also good policy. Environmentally sustainable care reduces waste, maximises prevention, increases efficiency and supports care closer to home. These strategies align directly with the government’s proposed “three shifts” in healthcare: from hospital to community, treatment to prevention and analogue to digital. Green practices are already delivering results. Cutting operating theatre energy use could save £90 million annually, while slashing medical gas wastage saves £5 million per year according to UCL Partners and Oxford University Hospitals. Trusts like Oxford University Hospitals are redesigning clinical pathways – like home-based care for high blood pressure in pregnancy – to save money (£4 million annually), improve outcomes and reduce emissions. These innovations are now influencing national NICE guidance.
• Beyond healthcare, greener NHS operations align with broader government goals – from clean energy investment and public sector decarbonisation (estimated £260 million in annual NHS energy savings) to building a resilient, circular medical technology economy. Partnerships like the £100 million NHS–Great British Energy initiative exemplify how sustainability can drive innovation, bolster supply chains and secure the UK's green leadership. But the window for impact is closing. The NHS is already facing the health effects of climate change – rising heat-related illness, flooding-linked mental health strain and service disruption during extreme weather. Without urgent investment in resilience and sustainability, the costs – human and economic – will rise.

Social

• A sustainable future for England’s health and adult social care hinges on urgent investment and systemic reform, according to a June 2025 Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) spotlight. With the NHS and adult social care sectors collectively representing around 13% of the workforce, persistent challenges are undermining workforce resilience. As of March 2024, the NHS faced 100,658 vacancies, while the adult social care sector had around 131,000 unfilled roles – excluding positions covered by temporary staff. The system is heavily dependent on international staffing, with 21% of NHS staff and 19% of social care workers hailing from overseas. Among doctors registered with the GMC, overseas-trained individuals accounted for as much as 38%. To tackle a projected shortfall of 150,000 NHS staff, NHS England’s Long-Term Workforce Plan calls for real-term budget increases of about 3.6% annually. Meanwhile, the adult social care workforce strategy has prompted government action, including an £86 million boost to the Disabled Facilities Grant, expansion of care career structures and digital integration. Despite efforts, workforce growth hasn’t matched rising demand that is being driven by an ageing population, post-pandemic pressures and growing waiting lists. And although the NHS is devolved, all UK nations face similar hurdles in staffing levels and supply chain resilience. Effective retention strategies must go beyond financial incentives, by addressing burnout, workplace culture, flexibility, professional progression and management support. Return-to-practice schemes have shown moderate impact: since 2014, around 7,978 nurses have returned to the profession, but uptake remains limited. Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) present an opportunity to synchronise workforce planning, pay, recruitment, training and performance management – enhancing efficiency and workforce stability across regions.
• GPs continue to face the highest pressures across the medical workforce. The GMC’s 2025 Workplace Experiences report reveals a cautiously hopeful picture: doctor satisfaction is on the rise, burnout is decreasing and workloads are easing for a second consecutive year. Yet, beneath this progress lies enduring pressures – patient safety concerns persist and certain segments of the workforce continue to struggle. General practitioners remain the most fatigued group. They are significantly more likely than other doctors to struggle with workload, lack time to deliver adequate care and express dissatisfaction. These are critical issues, given the drive to shift more healthcare into community settings. Training and development are also under strain as heavy workloads force some doctors to refuse training – jeopardising future leadership pipelines. Locally employed doctors, trainees and trainers report insufficient access to career progression opportunities.
• Despite notable progress in workforce diversity, the UK’s medical sector continues to face systemic inequities that disproportionately affect disabled doctors and UK-qualified ethnic minority doctors, according to the GMC’s 2025 State of Medical Education and Practice report. The report finds that in 2024, only 52% of ethnic minority UK graduates reported satisfaction with their roles, compared to 58% of white UK graduates. Burnout risks were also higher: 24% of ethnic minority UK graduates were classified as high risk, versus 18% of white UK graduates. Feelings of inclusion were similarly unequal – 74% of ethnic minority doctors felt part of a supportive team, compared with 80% of their white peers. The situation is equally stark for disabled doctors. In 2024, just 44% of disabled doctors reported job satisfaction, compared to 51% in 2023 and 61% of non-disabled doctors. Burnout risk among disabled doctors rose to 34%, significantly above the 19% recorded among non-disabled colleagues. These figures are particularly concerning in the context of a rapidly changing workforce. In March 2025, the GMC reported that female doctors now outnumber male doctors in the UK for the first time. Meanwhile, the share of black or black British applicants to UK medical schools grew from 6% to 10% between 2013 and 2022 and Asian or Asian British applicants rose from 27% to 29%. Despite these demographic shifts, lived experiences remain unequal. UK-qualified ethnic minority and disabled doctors continue to encounter bias, exclusion and lack of trust from senior colleagues – all contributing to heightened anxiety and attrition risk. The GMC has set ambitious targets: eliminate disproportionate employer referrals by 2026 and remove inequality in training pathways by 2031. Efforts include revamping medical education standards, strengthening support for educators, and building fairer, more inclusive workplace cultures. With 39% of doctors declining extra workload due to existing pressure, the report serves as a call to action for NHS trusts, employers and educators to not only recruit a diverse workforce – but to build environments where every doctor can succeed and every patient can benefit from safe, equitable care.

Governance

• Transparency and patient choice are key pillars of the NHS’s 10-year plan. Public performance data, league tables and provider comparisons aim to empower patients and drive provider improvement. But the evidence is mixed. While some providers may improve to avoid poor rankings, others may “game” the system, focus narrowly on what’s measured, or see local priorities distorted. Patient choice policies of the past showed that while people valued options, real-world decisions were driven more by GP advice or personal experience than by performance data. Structural barriers, like travel costs and health literacy, remain unaddressed. Despite talk of empowering the public, the plan undermines accountability in key areas. Proposals to expand patient ratings and feedback metrics could unfairly penalise overstretched hospitals. More worryingly, Healthwatch England is set to be abolished – eliminating a key independent voice for patients. Provider boards will lose governors, weakening local oversight. In place of this, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are expected to lead local collaboration – yet their powers, legitimacy and capacity remain uncertain.
• One of the most prominent themes in the forthcoming NHS 10-Year Health Plan is a renewed push to give people more hands-on control over their health and care. The government proposes a range of measures – from personal health budgets and self-referral options to digital access to unified patient records, aiming to make healthcare more personalised, efficient and responsive. For some patients, particularly those with long-term conditions, personalised care planning could improve experience and outcomes. Yet other proposals raise red flags. For example, tying provider reimbursement to patient ratings could unfairly penalise underfunded hospitals struggling with legacy infrastructure or chronic staffing shortages – challenges far beyond their immediate control. Changes proposed alongside the Dash Review of patient safety threaten to erode democratic accountability and independent scrutiny. Healthwatch England is to be abolished, ending half a century of independent patient advocacy. Meanwhile, NHS trust boards will no longer include public governors – a move critics argue strips away local oversight. These changes undermine two pillars of good governance: transparency and participatory accountability. While the plan purports to give patients more say in shaping their care, it simultaneously removes key structures designed to amplify patient voice and ensure systems listen. The plan assumes Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) will fill the governance gap – but the evidence is unclear. ICBs may lack the independence, data capability, or local legitimacy to fully represent community perspectives, especially in the face of entrenched systemic pressures.
• The government’s 10-Year Health Plan outlines significant structural and financial reforms aimed at modernising the NHS. The proposals promise to simplify governance, reduce central micromanagement and devolve more power to high-performing NHS organisations – all under the banner of "earned autonomy". Local NHS bodies would gain more flexibility to shape services around local population needs, including the design of new neighbourhood health services. In theory, this shift would reduce central interference and empower place-based innovation. ICBs will take on a sharper role as strategic commissioners, while new Integrated Health Organisations may emerge to manage entire local budgets and incentivise community-based, preventative care.
• The UK government is spearheading a vital crackdown on unsafe cosmetic procedures with fresh regulations aimed at enhancing public safety. High-risk operations – like non‑surgical Brazilian butt lifts – will soon be restricted to properly qualified healthcare professionals working in Care Quality Commission registered providers. Even lower‑risk treatments like Botox and fillers will require local authority licences, ensuring practitioners uphold rigorous standards for training, safety, insurance and premises. These measures will also introduce age restrictions to safeguard under‑18s, curbing the influence of dangerous beauty trends proliferating on social media. By eliminating “cosmetic cowboys” operating from homes, pop‑ups, or non‑clinical settings, the government expects to not only protect individuals from harm – like permanent scarring or worse – but also reduce pressure on the NHS by cutting down on corrective treatments. Professionals across the sector, from the British Beauty Council to Save Face and the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners, have welcomed the reforms. They highlight that robust licensing and training will restore public trust, support reputable providers and ensure competent, insured practitioners deliver services in safe environments.

Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

Environmental

• Arts Council England’s latest 2024 report reveals a decisive shift towards environmental responsibility across the UK’s cultural sector, with 90% of funded organisations adopting formal sustainability policies, over 70% implementing energy-saving measures and more than half embedding environmental oversight at the governance level. Beyond operational change, many are weaving climate themes into their artistic programming, using culture as a catalyst for awareness and action. Case studies like Creative Folkestone’s solar panel installation, which cut electricity costs by 40% in a month and Global Grooves’ community-built hydro-turbine highlight the sector’s blend of creativity and practical impact. Over the past decade, portfolio-wide carbon emissions have halved, underscoring how environmental strategy is becoming integral to both the creative and operational fabric of UK arts and culture.

Social

• The UK's first sector-wide ESG survey for charities and social enterprises, run by Eastside People in partnership with ACEVO, reveals a landscape eager to engage with ESG yet trailing in implementation. Although 67% of organisations lack even a basic ESG strategy and only 3% have fully integrated one, nearly half are "considering developing" their approach, highlighting intent even if action is nascent. Social concerns dominate – staff wellbeing and flexible working rank high in priority and nearly three‑quarters of respondents already pay the Real Living Wage, despite 26% being unable to do so. Equality, diversity and inclusion are seen as critically important (99% say so), though most remain at “starting out” or “developing” stages. On governance, while many organisations prioritise board development, only 48% of larger charities (with more than £1 million in income) conducted an external board effectiveness review in the past three years and 37% still have trustees exceeding the recommended nine‑year tenure. Environmental progress is slow, with 10% rating themselves as advanced in managing environmental impact. Although 96% recognise the importance of a published Theory of Change, just 22% have one in place and while three quarters value impact measurement, only 17% rate their progress as advanced.
• In August 2025, Sport England’s freshly unveiled Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) for 2025–2029 firmly embeds social and governance priorities within its organisational DNA and wider sectoral leadership. The plan commits to building a workforce that authentically reflects broader society by 2029, enhancing employees’ awareness and capacity to champion inclusion, fostering a culture where inclusive behaviours are the norm and ensuring policies align with evolving equality legislation.

Governance

• The UK government and the gambling industry are once again in conflict over potential tax reform, with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown reigniting the debate by proposing a sharp increase in gambling taxes – potentially up to 50% – to raise £3-3.5 billion annually and fund the removal of the two‑child benefit cap. The proposal, supported by the IPPR, frames gambling as a socially harmful yet highly profitable sector that could contribute meaningfully to child poverty reduction and broader public finances. Industry leaders, including the Betting and Gaming Council, have warned that such increases would be “self‑defeating”, threatening jobs, sports sponsorship and pushing punters toward the unregulated black market – citing experiences from Germany and the Netherlands as cautionary examples. Meanwhile, a government consultation continues on transitioning to a simplified single Remote Betting & Gaming Duty, consolidating existing tax rates – although final decisions are expected in the autumn budget.
• The government unveiled a £270 million “Arts Everywhere Fund” to bolster cultural infrastructure in February 2025. The UK government’s new “Arts Everywhere Fund” – a £270 million lifeline announced by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy – aims to safeguard cultural institutions under acute financial pressure, while reinforcing equitable access and resilience. The package includes a new £85 million Creative Foundations Fund for urgent capital refurbishment, a £25 million Museum Estate and Development Fund (MEND), £20 million for the Museum Renewal Fund supporting civic institutions and £15 million for Heritage at Risk projects. Additionally, 17 major institutions, including the British Museum and National Gallery, will receive a 5% grant increase and targeted £3.2 million investments will support four cultural education schemes. The funding aims to preserve jobs, ensure venues remain open to all communities and restore infrastructure in historically underfunded regional spaces, particularly in the wake of long-term austerity and pandemic-era declines threatening cultural engagement.

For more information on any of the UK’s 600+ industries, log on to www.ibisworld.com, or follow IBISWorld on LinkedIn.