EY Survey Shows EHS Investments Driving Resilience

Key Takeaways

• Commercial Value Gains: 81% of EHS leaders say their initiatives have contributed to commercial value compared with 59% of peers.
• Efficiency and Cost Savings: 94% of leaders reported efficiency improvements and 73% reported reduced costs during disruptions.
• Digital Transformation: EHS functions are increasingly using digital tools for risk prediction, prevention, and operational resilience.
• Rising Investment: Nearly eight in ten organizations expect to increase spending on EHS initiatives in the coming year.

Deep Dive

For years, environment, health, and safety (EHS) programs were treated as the paperwork-heavy cousin of corporate compliance—necessary, yes, but hardly the stuff of boardroom strategy. That perception is quickly eroding. A new EY survey shows that when companies take EHS seriously and invest strategically, they don’t just tick regulatory boxes, they create real, measurable business value.

The 2025 EY Global EHS Maturity Study found a clear divide between organizations that weave EHS into their core strategies and those that approach it reactively. The former group (“EHS leaders”) are reaping the benefits in ways that matter to both shareholders and stakeholders.

EHS leaders are far more likely to report reduced costs during unexpected disruptions (73% compared with 64% of others), and nearly all of them (94%) said their EHS investments boosted operational efficiency. Most striking of all, 81% credited their initiatives with driving increased commercial value, compared with just 59% of less proactive peers.

In short, when disruptions hit, EHS leaders are better prepared to absorb the shock and keep moving.

Digital Tools and Sharper Foresight

Another shift is happening in how EHS work gets done. Digital platforms and predictive analytics are helping safety teams move from being back-office guardians to forward-looking strategists. By spotting risks earlier and preventing incidents before they escalate, EHS functions are positioning themselves as enablers of resilience rather than cost centers.

That helps explain why nearly eight in ten respondents plan to increase EHS spending in the coming year. What was once a compliance budget line item is fast becoming a growth lever.

A Broader Signal to the Market

EY’s study draws from 526 executives across 34 countries and 24 industries, each with revenues north of US$500 million. About two-thirds of respondents were senior EHS executives, with a third sitting in the C-suite. The signal from both groups is consistently telling us that EHS isn’t peripheral anymore.

The leaders identified in the study had something in common, a deliberate choice to make EHS investment part of their overall strategy, and a steady increase in environmental and health and safety expenditure over the past three years. In other words, the results weren’t accidental.

From Obligation to Opportunity

The real takeaway is that EHS is no longer just about compliance. It’s about resilience, efficiency, trust, and ultimately, competitive advantage. Companies that lean into this shift are not only reducing risk but also finding new ways to unlock commercial value in a turbulent world.

What used to be a defensive play has become an offensive one. In that sense, EHS may be one of the quietest, and smartest, investments a business can make right now.

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