The 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) revealed something interesting for sustainability professionals: “Many of the innovations with the greatest potential for environmental benefit are not positioning themselves as sustainability-first.” 

Noam Freshman, a strategist at Carol Cone On Purpose, observed this subtle shift in a think piece for 3BL’s media division, TriplePundit, this month.  “This year, the number of booths explicitly dedicated to sustainable innovation grew from 20 to 38. That might sound modest, but rather than viewing this as a shortfall, it may signal something more meaningful,” he wrote. “Sustainability is no longer being treated as a standalone category. It’s woven into how products, systems, and infrastructure are designed from the start.
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[MORE: Harnessing AI for Social Good Starts With Inclusive Data] Products like a satellite farm monitor and an AI humanoid that can reduce workplace injuries carry clear benefits for society and the environment, even though they weren’t marketed that way.  For sustainability professionals, this offers a critical insight: “The next decade of environmental progress will likely be shaped less by standalone climate technologies and more by intelligence embedded across systems,” Freshman wrote. 

This isn’t just happening in tech. Across sectors, the companies that integrate sustainability across business functions see better brand reputation, improved employee recruitment and more effective boards, according to 2025 research from EY. 

On 3BL’s news feed, we now see our corporate clients going beyond the umbrella of traditional sustainability to share how they’re using their core competencies to make people’s lives better across the board — from advancing early cancer detection using AI, to helping consumers save money on healthy food, protect themselves from fraud and keep kids’ digital footprints private. 

This shows a clear upleveling in sophistication, from table-stakes messages about recycling and donations to making positive social benefit a normal course of doing business and bringing products and services to market.  But only about a quarter of the most forward-thinking companies are integrating sustainability and corporate responsibility objectives across their operations today, according to EY’s research, meaning most still leave these opportunities dwindling in a silo. 

To learn more about how 3BL can help you break down silos to unlock your full storytelling potential, get in touch with the form below. 

Read the full story on TriplePundit here.  Photo credit: Florian Schindler/Unsplash+

Daniel Blackman returns to What the…? to talk about rethinking connection, rebuilding trust, and engaging communities where they are.

In Episode 7 of 3BL’s What the…? video series, host Mary Mazzoni welcomes back Daniel Blackman, Founder of Renaissance94, for his second appearance on our series. This time, Blackman dives into why the sustainability space continues to miss the mark on real engagement and how practitioners can start to rebuild trust and connection across communities.

Full episode here. As sustainability messaging becomes increasingly politicized, Blackman pulls no punches on where the industry has gone wrong. “We’ve seen ESG, we’ve seen sustainability — these have become more about branding than about saving lives,” said Blackman. “It’s been more about branding than about engaging communities.” He emphasizes the importance of shifting the way communicators show up and speak to people beyond their usual circles. “We need to stop speaking at and over people. We need to speak to people where they are.” Key takeaways from the conversation:

• We’re talking — but not connecting. Sustainability professionals must meet communities where they are, both physically and emotionally, rather than delivering messages from afar or with a corporate filter.
• Access and infrastructure matter. Many of the communities most impacted by climate issues lack the infrastructure, like broadband or transportation, to even participate in the conversation.
• Communities want to be part of the solution. Every day, people, especially those directly affected by climate events, have valuable knowledge and lived experience. They should be seen as partners.

Click Here to Watch Episode 7 of What the…? About 3BL  3BL transforms impact and sustainability initiatives into business advantages. Since 2009, we’ve helped 1,500+ organizations — from Fortune 500s to NGOs — connect purpose with performance. Our proprietary platform delivers targeted distribution, strategic insights, and measurable analytics, while our media division TriplePundit provides solutions-focused journalism and brand storytelling support.

Are you subscribed to TriplePundit’s Brands Taking Stands newsletter? Here’s what you missed and more on how you can subscribe.

From the TriplePundit newsroom: Are We Finally At a Tipping Point for Sustainable Aviation Fuel? By Tina Casey Sustainable aviation fuel accounted for less than 0.15 percent of total fuel used among 77 leading airlines last year, but new supplies could soon change that. U.S. production of biofuels for aviation and other applications nearly doubled from December 2024 to February 2025, with new projects coming online in Montana, Nevada and Texas.

Landmark Gender Justice Agreement for Indonesian Garment Workers Shows the Power of Research and Campaigning By Nithin Coca Last year, two garment factories in Indonesia signed an agreement aimed at eliminating gender-based violence with a union-led program. Now, the organizers behind it want to see the model spread across the country.

Do Sustainability Conversations Have to Be Divisive? By Taylor Haelterman There’s been a notable shift in social impact and sustainability communications in the United States, but that doesn’t mean the conversation is over. In the latest edition of The Solutions Effect, our monthly newsletter covering the best of solutions journalism in the sustainability space, we explore how people are opening up new dialogues about the issues we face right now.

New Tech Turns Manure Into Fertilizer While Capturing Carbon By Mary Riddle The climate startup Kairos Carbon developed a system that extracts carbon from livestock waste, sequesters it, and turns what’s left into a fertilizer that doesn’t leach into groundwater. The process reduces agricultural emissions while reclaiming valuable nutrients from the waste.

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