Recent headlines paint a gloomy picture for corporate sustainability. Coca-Cola, Walmart, UBS and Microsoft are just some companies accused of watering down their climate commitments. But a survey of close to 7,000 company disclosures made to CDP in 2024 suggests that media coverage of individual companies may be missing broader trends.

“I expected to see more companies backing off,” said David Linich, a sustainability partner at PwC, the consultancy behind the survey. “It seemed like there was a mass retreat. But the data showed otherwise.”

PwC used a combination of human analysis and AI to mine the CDP dataset, which Linich said was broadly representative of the larger economy. Here are some highlights:

Not just staying the course, but accelerating

The PwC team found that 84 percent of companies are sticking with climate goals, and 37 percent are increasing them. That includes all 47 companies that saw a change of CEO since setting their target. “None of those companies backed off their commitments,” wrote the report authors.

In fact, companies anticipate more money will be flowing into climate transition projects over the next few years. Capital and operating expenditures on climate are expected to grow by 18 percent and 21 percent, respectively, between 2024 and 2030.

Of the 16 percent of companies who restated targets, half did so for what Linich described as “legitimate” reasons. This group includes companies that set targets without having created a detailed transition plan. Those that have now done so are still investing but have realized their transition will take longer than anticipated.

One notable question is whether these commitments, made in disclosures filed before President Donald Trump took office, will survive a presidency that appears intent on dismantling policies designed to tackle climate change. 

Emission goals are alive

Recent research has delivered worrying prognoses for current emissions targets. An Accenture report published last year, for instance, found that just 16 percent of companies with targets were on track to hit them. The PwC analysis, by contrast, suggests the idea is in good health: Two-thirds of companies are on track to hit their targets for Scope 1 and 2, and half are on track for Scope 3.

Breaking the numbers down by sector revealed a correlation between ambition and progress. Simply put, sectors that set more ambitious targets are generally exceeding them, while those with more conservative goals are off track. Unsurprisingly, the trend reflects the abatement options open to different industries. Tech companies, for example, can often make a significant dent in their carbon footprints by switching to renewables. F