MIT survey finds 83% rate supply chain sustainability important, but governance lags

The MIT Sustainable Supply Chain Lab's 2026 State of Supply Chain Sustainability report, based on a survey of 1,810 supply chain professionals in 91 countries, finds 83% rate sustainability as important or very important to long-term business success, the highest level in the report's seven-year history.

The report also finds that 68% of respondents say tariff uncertainty has forced them to delay, scale back, or abandon sustainability strategies.

Governance is weaker than the commitment. Only 51% of companies with public sustainability goals have a formal cross-functional sustainability team. Twenty-nine percent of respondents report an increase in net emissions, which the report says suggests that operational efficiency does not automatically lower net emissions.