Building What Lasts: Reflecting on 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, we have taken time to pause, reflect and look honestly at the year behind us. Not only at what we have done, but how we have shown up as a consultancy in a year that tested conviction, clarity and capability across the industry.

 

This year has reinforced a central truth. Inclusive leadership is a strategic imperative, and sustainable progress requires structural change.

While the language and framing around this work may continue to shift, the foundations remain constant. That is why it has never been more important for our work to remain relevant and resilient, supporting clients and partners to navigate complexity, build change that lasts and fully leverage the capability within their existing teams.

Against this backdrop, the year has reaffirmed several enduring truths for us and sharpened our thinking about what must adapt if inclusive cultures are to last.

 

Grounded in impact: 2025 highlights

One of the most meaningful moments of the year was Charlotte Sweeney, OBE being named Winner of the Inclusion Award at the Management Consultancies Association (MCA) Awards 2025, alongside being a finalist for The Times Management Consultant of the Year.

It reinforced our belief that lasting culture change comes from adapting systems, practices and behaviours in partnership with clients, and from moving decisively from intent to measurable and sustainable outcomes. 

This recognition reflects Charlotte Sweeney OBE's commitment to creating inclusive and equitable workplace cultures that empower leaders and support meaningful cultural change, “bulletproof” work that judges described as “laser-focused on delivering results.”

You can revisit the celebration and the MCA Awards recognition where finalists were featured in a 16-page special supplement published by The Times here: [LINK]

 

Collaborating and celebrating impact with you:

There is no one single point of success and completion in inclusive transformation. Much of our most meaningful work this year has been building on existing work and has happened alongside clients navigating constraints, political tension and the need to reimagine established approaches.

Across sectors we’ve seen organisations:

• Re-examine global cultural strategies that no longer align with local realities and requirements
• Move from aspirational statements into governance, accountability and decision-making frameworks
• Build the muscle to confront reality where progress has stalled and examine why and what actions we can do together to make the most impact

What’s stood out this year is that organisations making substantive progress are those willing to learn, holding themselves accountable, revisiting assumptions, and building structures to support making equitable decisions.

This principle was echoed at the Yorkshire Excellence in HR Awards in October, where Charlotte served as a judge. Winners were recognised for their openness and learning from moments when things had not gone to plan. A powerful reminder that progress is rarely linear, but entirely possible when honesty and accountability are present.

We also attended the HR Excellence Awards in December, highlighting innovative strategies, outstanding leadership and remarkable achievements across a wide range of categories, and we are proud to have been named a finalist for HR Consultancy of the Year, and to celebrate our clients’ award wins.

Our journey toward greater inclusion continues, and we are more inspired than ever to develop high performance leadership and drive inclusive change. We may not have won this time, but that does not diminish the sustainable impact we have created with our clients, an impact that is being felt across their businesses and by their employees.

Industry collaboration, dialogue and being open to challenge:

We continued our long-standing involvement with the d&i Leaders (Diversity and Inclusion Leaders) Global Workplace Inclusion Forum, the leading global event for senior diversity, inclusion, culture and HR practitioners.

This year’s forum was the largest yet, bringing together over 450 attendees, 35 speakers and 20 sponsors and exhibitors. The collective insight reinforced that progress cannot be driven in isolation.

Our partnership with Anthropy UK also reflects our conviction that inclusion cannot be solved in silos. At the national gathering this year, we delivered our workshop: “The DEI Disconnect: Why Progress Stalls and How to Overcome Barriers.” Through Anthropy, we joined leaders from a wide range of sectors to challenge existing views and shape new ones on how individual and collective action can drive us towards a more equitable society.

And because connecting ideas matters, our Inclusive Disruption podcast continued to share practical conversations from unpacking how humanising work forms the backbone of inclusive cultures, to exploring strategies for resilient leadership and what we can do differently as practitioners and ‘culture carriers’.

Browse all our podcast episodes here.

 

Responsible business: a continued commitment

Being part of the B Corp community continues to matter to us because it reinforces a shared commitment to doing business differently, alongside organisations that are equally focused on learning, accountability and continuous improvement.

In 2025, our B Corp Impact Score reached 126.9 more than double the median score reported by businesses completing the assessment. The score and our impact report is something we are proud of, as it reflects a tangible benchmark of the environmental, social and governance practices we prioritise and the responsibility we continue to take seriously

As we head into 2026, we’re committed to continuous improvement, transparency and accountability not for certification, but as a discipline that shapes our work with clients and partners every day.

Looking ahead: what must adapt for 2026

As the landscape of inclusive leadership and organisational change continues to evolve with political challenges, legal shifts, and evolving organisational commitments three realignments feel particularly critical:

From visibility to impact

Progress in 2026 will be driven less by external signalling and more by how fairness and inclusion are embedded in everyday decisions and organisational systems.

Beyond one-size-fits-all

Uniform global approaches rarely meet local needs. Contextual intelligence and cultural nuance will be vital.

From passion to capability

Passion is an important driver, but sustainable progress requires strategic expertise, governance structures and long-term commitment.

 

Organisations that will thrive in the year ahead are those that treat culture as a shared responsibility, listen to diverse perspectives at every level, build accountability into decision making and invest in the skills and structures that support equitable outcomes.

2025 has been a year of complexity and contradiction.

Increased scrutiny.

Political and legal challenges to previously used DEI models.

A growing backlash against surface level commitments.

At the same time, there has been a deeper recognition from many leaders that inclusion, fairness and accountability are not optional. They are the foundations to build performance and long-term sustainability upon.

 

As the year comes to a close, we invite practitioners, leaders and organisations to reflect back, and do this honestly.

What genuinely shifted and what remained unchanged?

Where did intent outpace capability? 

What now needs to be redesigned, not simply rebranded, for 2026?

 

This year has reaffirmed that lasting change is built through partnership, accountability and the courage to adapt as conditions constantly shift. We are grateful to work alongside those who share this commitment and look forward to continuing the work together in the year ahead.

Team CSA is wishing you a restful festive season and every success as we move into 2026.