Half of the world’s 100 largest private firms have yet to set emissions reduction targets, severely lagging their public counterparts, according to new analysis by Net Zero Tracker. “If sunlight is the best disinfectant for climate inaction, most private firms are operating nocturnally – beyond the glare of the civil scrutiny, investor pressure and disclosure requirements faced by listed companies,” said John Land, Project Lead at Net Zero Tracker. In comparison, 82 out of the 100 largest publicly-listed companies included in the report had set net zero or emissions reduction targets. Companies without net zero and interim decarbonisation targets are leaving themselves vulnerable to incoming sustainability-focused legislation – such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive – Net Zero Tracker warned. Twenty-four of the 100 assessed private companies were EU-based. “What goes on in the EU does not stay in the EU,” said Lang. “And what goes on in a regulated public company will not stay in a public company: one company’s indirect emissions are another’s direct emissions.”
Check out our latest analysis on #EarthDay, on the climate targets of private and publicly-listed firms.@cathmckenna has said that: “Shaping the net zero economy – will not be won through baby steps, but through bold and credible leadership."https://t.co/YnXsbF037g pic.twitter.com/H7pxpCv2l8
— Net Zero Tracker (@NetZeroTracker) April 22, 2024
