Your 2026 ESG, Sustainability, and Corporate Responsibility Reading List
Some years are about learning new tools. Some years are about sharpening arguments. And some years are about survival. For many sustainability professionals, 2025 was the third option. So it won’t surprise you that many of my reads last year and recommendations are about learning how to live inside uncertainty without losing our moral footing.
If the early years of ESG were about proving relevance, and the middle years were about scaling systems, 2025 was the year many of us quietly asked: What actually holds when the noise gets louder, the timelines get shorter, and the answers stay maddeningly incomplete?
My hope as you put these on your 2026 reading list is that you find them steadying. They grapple with climate, capitalism, ethics, connection, and catastrophe — not to scare us senseless, but to help us stay human, grounded, and courageous in the work. You won’t find easy optimism here. You also won’t find despair. What you will find is perspective — ancient and modern, fictional and analytical — on how to keep going when clarity is partial and stakes are high.
Let’s dive in.
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