While more than three fifths (61.5%) of Dutch businesses made sustainability and climate-neutral investments last year, the proportion of firms doing so has fallen for two years in a row, according to new data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
As CBS noted, in 2025, some 64.3% of businesses invested in climate-neutral measures, while in 2024, more than two thirds (68%) of firms did so.
Sector by sector
The decline was common to most business sectors, barring a few outliers, the data showed.
‘In most sectors, fewer companies say they are investing in sustainability in 2026 than said this in 2025,’ Statistics Netherlands noted. ‘However, in the car trade and repair sector and the ‘other services’ sector, more firms are investing in sustainability this year, while in the information and communication sector and the retail sector, investment has remained fairly stable.
‘The proportion of companies investing in sustainability remains the highest in the real estate activities sector and the transportation and storage sector.’
The slowdown in climate-related investments in the Netherlands has been most pronounced among small- and medium-sized businesses, CBS noted, while larger firms (those employing 250 or more people) remain the most likely to invest in climate-neutral operations.
In terms of the specific areas where firms are likely to invest in sustainable measures, this varies from sector to sector, CBS noted – manufacturing companies are primarily focusing on energy efficiency and circular production processes, while transportation companies tend to prioritise emissions reduction measures.
Financial hurdles
According to the study, around two-thirds of businesses reported facing obstacles to becoming more climate-neutral, with financial constraints the most frequently-cited challenge, identified by 36.1% of respondents, up from 34.6% a year earlier.
This was followed by uncertainty surrounding the economy and government policy, which was cited by 23.3%, up from 20.8% last year.
Elsewhere, respondents also cited concerns over network capacity and grid constraints (14.6%, compared to 11.9% last year), while fewer businesses cited a ‘lack of sustainable alternatives’ as an obstacle, with the proportion falling from 16.4% to 12.9%.
Some 32% of firms said that they saw ‘no obstacles’ to making the business more climate-neutral, roughly on a par with last year (32.5%). Read more here.
