73% Of Firms Plan To Increase EHS Budgets In 2027, Led By Training Spend

London, UK. August 2026. Seventy-three per cent of organizations plan to increase their environment, health and safety (EHS) budgets in 2027, according to new research from Verdantix, the trusted intelligence provider for software and services markets. The rise is driven by growing investment in workforce training, contractor oversight and digital technologies aimed at identifying risks earlier. In comparison, the share of firms expecting no change to their EHS budget has fallen sharply, from 31% in 2025 to 23% in 2026. The study highlights a continued shift towards targeted investment in capabilities that can improve risk visibility and prevent incidents before they occur.

The Global Corporate Survey 2026: EHS Budgets, Priorities And Tech Preferences report also reveals that training is the fastest-growing EHS investment area, with 66% of organizations planning to increase investment in 2027. This demand is being driven by a shift towards competency-based learning, with firms seeking to tailor training to specific roles, tasks and risk profiles.

Despite ranking among decision-makers' top three operational priorities for five consecutive years, serious injury and fatality (SIF) rates have shown little movement, increasing pressure on EHS leaders to identify and address risk precursors before they result in incidents. In response, organizations are redirecting investment towards mobile reporting, real-time data capture and stronger contractor oversight.

The report also reveals that AI adoption in EHS is accelerating at the pilot stage yet falling short of widespread deployment. The proportion of organizations actively piloting AI tools increased from 33% to 42% in one year, but only 7% have rolled out AI extensively across their EHS operations. When asked about the barriers for implementation, 70% of respondents cited governance, safety and regulatory concerns as a leading obstacle to wider adoption.

“EHS budgets are rising across the board, but leaders are under increasing pressure to demonstrate tangible safety improvements while navigating more complex workforces, regulatory requirements and technology environments,” said April Choy, Industry Analyst at Verdantix. “The investment priorities for 2027 reflect this shift, with organizations directing spend towards core capability uplift in training and broader safety performance initiatives – while taking a more measured approach to emerging technologies such as AI – to ensure investment delivers measurable improvements to safety performance.”

Read the full report here.

Notes to Editors
The Verdantix Global Corporate Survey 2026: EHS Budgets, Priorities And Tech Preferences gathered responses from 302 senior EHS decision-makers across 25 countries and 24 industries between June and July 2026.

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