EY interviewed 500 CSOs from $1bn+ companies on climate change initiatives with e subsequent report revealing that 70 per cent of CSOs reported higher than expected financial returns on climate change initiatives.

Organisations’ top three motivators to invest in climate change are in improving the organisation’s resilience to future disruptions, improving ESG rating from external agencies, meeting demands from our key stakeholders.

However, research also found that whilst 93 per cent of companies surveyed have made climate change commitments, only 35 per cent have one that will reach up to 2030.

Indeed, the underlying picture from the research is of companies that are confused and petrified on taking climate action. Only 11 per cent of companies surveyed have actually made a commitment to net-zero and less than 42 per cent plan to reduce emissions by 45 per cent or more.

Action is stymied from the start, with boards at loggerheads as to how to achieve climate caring plans: 62 per cent board members and management disagree on which criteria are most important when evaluating initiatives, and 61 per cent agreed with the notion that there are now so many groups involved it is difficult to make any form of progress.

Not surprisingly, four of the five most completed actions are in governance or measurement, not in action.

Barriers to implantation are equally predictable, including concerns about initiatives being financially beneficial despite the higher-than-expected returns noted above, other barriers included a lack of expertise from the board or management, difficulty retaining or upskilling talent, lack of data and technology to reduce emissions and, of course given the perception stated, difficulty securing financing for climate change initiatives.

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