Many companies are putting themselves at the forefront of climate action and recent years have seen a rapid increase in corporate climate targets. However, this surge in corporate climate target setting, combined with the fragmentation of approaches and a general lack of mandatory regulation and oversight, makes it challenging to distinguish real climate leadership from unsubstantiated greenwashing. For instance, whereas some companies commit to deep levels of decarbonisation within their value chains, others simply pledge “net zero” without making any real emission reductions.
Our work on this topic has exposed the ambiguity and insufficiency of corporate climate strategies, most notably through the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor and the Net Zero Tracker. We also showcase examples of good practices that can be replicated and propose new ideas to further improve corporate climate strategies, such as climate contributions as a credible alternative to offsetting. In addition, we engage in processes aimed at improving voluntary standards for corporate target-setting and we inform emerging regulations.
We contribute to higher integrity in corporate climate strategies through:
- Developing methods for evaluating corporate climate targets and strategies
- Tracking and assessing corporate climate strategies
- Developing and testing alternative approaches to address corporate or individual climate responsibility
- Assessing voluntary initiatives aimed at increasing corporate climate ambition
- Engaging in processes to create new guidelines for corporate climate accountability
