Fewer Dutch companies are spending money on sustainability measures this year, with many blaming their finances or uncertainty about the economy and government policy, national statistics office CBS said on Tuesday.

Some 64% of businesses are investing in measures to combat climate change in 2025, down from 68% last year. Small and medium-sized businesses are less likely to be investing this year than in 2024 and in nearly all sectors, the share of companies investing in greening their operations has fallen.

Large companies were more likely to cite the lack of viable sustainable alternatives as a barrier.  “Businesses have become more pessimistic. Affordability is a concern, but so is uncertainty about the wider economy,” chief economist Peter Hein van Mulligen told broadcaster NOS.

“A transport company can relatively easily invest in electric vehicles instead of diesel,” Van Mulligen said. “But for large firms in the chemical or metal industries, it’s much harder to switch. They often need fossil fuels because their processes can’t be powered by electricity.”

CBS also said climate-related investments by Dutch businesses nearly doubled between 2019 and 2023, rising from €23 billion to €41 billion.