Half of the world’s largest corporations are committed to net zero, but a significant credibility gap demands more action.
The study conducted by Net Zero Tracker assesses the 1,000th company with a net zero target from the world’s largest 2,000 publicly listed companies. Overall, the study found that corporate net zero targets have risen by over 40 per cent from 700 companies in June 2022 to 1,003 today.
This equates to 66 per cent of the world’s largest 2,000 companies being covered by a net zero target, equalling roughly $27trn in revenue. Although this is a positive leap forward, a third of the world’s largest publicly listed companies still haven’t set any form of emissions reduction or net zero target.
Credibility issues cloud progress
Despite more and more organisations making commitments to net zero and incorporating climate factors into their daily operations, Net Zero Tracker warn that the integrity of company mitigation targets needs to improve if they are to adhere to the Paris Agreement.
“A clear line in the sand on net zero has surfaced,” says John Lan, project lead for the Net Zero Tracker. “Countless net zero targets are credibility light, but now we can say for certain that most of the world’s largest companies have shifted to the right side of the line on net zero intent.”
How does the UK fare?
The Net Zero Tracker takes a comprehensive look at UK-based companies designing and instigating their net zero targets. The UK’s net zero plans have been recently scuppered by government U-Turns and the scrapping of essential climate policies, but UK organisations are acting independently to pursuit their own environmental goals.
94 per cent of UK-based companies within the Forbes 2,000 have set net zero targets, and only 2 UK-based companies within this category have failed to set any mitigation targets. Those companies are 3i and Beira.
Overall, the number of companies setting net zero targets and committing to mitigation practices has increased exponentially in recent years, but to guarantee net zero, the credibility surrounding these claims needs to be improved and plans must be actioned to ensure such commitments become a reality.
Read our advice on setting science-based targets for your business. Access our full net zero toolkit below.
