Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2023

The 2023 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor evaluates 24 multinational companies, finding that 15 of them have climate strategies of low or very low integrity. Key issues include ambiguous net-zero pledges, insufficient 2030 targets that fall short of 1.5°C pathways, and a heavy reliance on non-permanent biological carbon offsets. While emission disclosure transparency is moderate, the report highlights a critical '2030 blind spot' where corporate commitments do not match the required global reductions of 43-48% by 2030. The authors advocate for a shift from offsetting to a 'climate contribution' approach and call for tighter regulatory oversight to ensure corporate accountability.

• The majority of the assessed companies' climate strategies lack integrity, with 15 out of 24 companies rated as having low or very low integrity.
• Corporate emission reduction commitments for 2030 are significantly insufficient; the median absolute reduction commitment is only 15% of full value chain emissions, rising to 21% if intensity targets are interpreted optimistically, compared to the 43-48% required for a 1.5°C pathway.
• Most net-zero pledges are ambiguous or fail to commit to deep decarbonisation; only five companies (H&M Group, Holcim, Stellantis, Maersk, and Thyssenkrupp) commit to reducing emissions by at least approximately 90% by their target years.
• Third-party certifications, specifically from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), often lend credibility to targets that are scientifically insufficient or misleading.
• Carbon neutrality claims are largely misleading, covering only a small fraction of total emissions; on average, these claims cover just 3% of a company's emission footprint.
• There is an excessive and unsustainable reliance on forestry and land-use offsets, which are fundamentally flawed due to the non-permanence of biological carbon sinks.
• The practice of 'insetting' is identified as a contentious and potentially illegitimate approach that can lead to double counting and low-credibility offsetting claims.
• Many companies rely on Renewable Electricity Certificates (RECs) to claim renewable energy use, which the report argues are unlikely to result in additional renewable energy capacity.
• While most companies disclose emissions with moderate transparency, a minority still use misleading practices, such as excluding major emission sources or underreporting life-cycle emissions.
• The report identifies a need to transition from offsetting to a 'climate contribution' approach, where companies provide financial support for mitigation without claiming to neutralise their own emissions.

APA

Day, T., Mooldijk, S., Hans, F., Smit, S., Posada, E., Skribbe, R., Woollands, S., Fearnehough, H., Kuramochi, T., Warnecke, C., Kachi, A., & Höhne, N. (2023). Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2023. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/CorporateClimateResponsibilityMonitor2023.pdf

Chicago

Day, Thomas, Silke Mooldijk, Frederic Hans, Sybrig Smit, Eduardo Posada, Reena Skribbe, Santiago Woollands, et al. Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2023. Carbon Market Watch, 2023. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/CorporateClimateResponsibilityMonitor2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{day2023corporate, author = {Day, Thomas and Mooldijk, Silke and Hans, Frederic and Smit, Sybrig and Posada, Eduardo and Skribbe, Reena and Woollands, Santiago and Fearnehough, Harry and Kuramochi, Takeshi and Warnecke, Carsten and Kachi, Aki and Höhne, Niklas}, title = {{Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2023}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2023}, month = feb, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/CorporateClimateResponsibilityMonitor2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }