Sustainability assessment: the state of the art in 2026

Sustainability Assessment (SA) has developed over the past three decades as a decision-support process explicitly directing choices towards sustainability. This paper provides an updated state-of-the-art review of SA in 2025, building on the 2012 assessment by Bond, Morrison-Saunders and Pope. We examine progress in theory, practice and process across selected jurisdictions, considering how SA has evolved conceptually and in application. While the volume of academic research on SA continues to grow, practical uptake remains uneven and context-dependent. Key innovations shaping the field include the embedding of sustainability provisions within Canada’s next generation impact assessment framework, the incorporation of holistic assessment principles in Western Australia, the global adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the rise of sustainable finance taxonomies. Together, these developments sharpen debates about definitions, scope, and trade-offs inherent in SA, highlighting both its strengths—such as integrated treatment of cumulative effects—and weaknesses, including costs, jurisdictional constraints, and challenges of transdisciplinarity. Opportunities exist to enhance SA through improved design, cross-jurisdictional cooperation, and clearer sustainability benchmarks, but threats remain from political pressures to streamline assessment and reduce costs. We conclude by reflecting on the contested future of SA and the need to communicate its value more effectively.