Dive Brief:
- In a year that saw public pullbacks from net-zero targets and a second United States withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, 41% of the world’s 2,000 largest companies (G2000) now have net-zero targets for their entire value chain, up from 27% in 2024, according to a report released by Accenture last month.
- Companies also took more action towards those goals this year, with the G2000 adopting an average of 13 of 21 decarbonization levers — or actions that correlate with emissions reductions — up from an average of 11.5 in 2024.
- However, only 16% of the world’s 4,000 largest companies (G4000) are on track to bring their operations to net-zero by 2050, per the report. Three sectors —energy, natural resources and utilities — account for 75% of operational emissions, and most companies in these industries saw their emissions increase, according to the report.
Dive Insight:
Although U.S. federal policy has reversed on climate change, corporate net-zero targets gained ground globally this year. Commitments across companies, cities, states and regions increased in 2025, according to another analysis the nonprofit Net Zero Tracker released this fall.
Among the G2000, 73% have a net-zero target covering at least scopes 1 and 2, up from 39% in 2021, and the vast majority of the G4000 (89%) are connecting their decarbonization efforts to business value in their communications, according to Accenture’s report, which is based on publicly available company documents and emissions data from S&P Global Trucost. In addition, the report found that 81% of G4000 companies are now partnering with others on decarbonization, and 71% have joined industry networks focused on cutting carbon emissions.
Taken collectively, the results show that even if the global political consensus is becoming more fragmented, the largest companies are viewing decarbonization as part of their business strategies, the report said.
The report also found that business performance is decoupling from emissions. The G4000’s collective revenues have grown by 7% annually since 2016, while overall operational emissions have remained flat, the report said.
Half of G4000 companies have cut both emissions intensity and absolute emissions in scopes 1 and 2 since 2016. However, those G4000 companies that are on track with their scope 1 and 2 net-zero targets account for just 4% of the group’s total operational emissions.
The report linked corporate progress on climate ambitions to four key ingredients: externally-validated science-based targets, clear transition plans, board-level oversight and incentives that tie leadership pay to climate performance. Companies that combined all four methods reduced emissions by an average of 2.6% a year, while companies that used none of them typically saw their emissions rise by 3% annually.
The most popular actions towards net-zero in 2025 centered on energy efficiency, waste reduction and renewables adoption, which were each adopted by more than 80% of G400 companies. Carbon pricing — or assigning an operational price for the cost of emitting carbon dioxide — was the least popular lever, with only 19% of the G4000 adopting. The report found that companies adopting 15 or more of the 21 possible decarbonization levers are typically cutting emissions at the fastest rates, per the report.
The report highlighted the promise of AI to multiply the impact of other levers, but noted that it can be a double-edged sword. Twenty-four percent of the G4000 seem to be using AI in some form to aid decarbonization, but only one-sixth of them recognize that AI can also drive emissions upwards.
