Power Forward 4.0

Power Forward 4.0 finds that 60% of Fortune 500 companies have set at least one climate or energy target, a 12-percentage-point increase since 2017. While GHG reduction targets are most common (54%) and Science-Based Targets (SBTs) have increased sixfold, only 20% of the Fortune 500 have set or committed to an SBT. The report highlights a rise in net-zero commitments (17%) and 100% renewable energy targets (58 companies), though it notes significant gaps in the financial, fossil fuel, and retail sectors. Despite progress, the report argues that voluntary action is insufficient and calls for federal and state policies, such as carbon pricing, to align the US private sector with the Paris Agreement and the US Nationally Determined Contribution.

• Climate and energy target setting among the Fortune 500 has increased to 60%, up from 48% in 2017. The largest companies are the most active, with 76% of the Fortune 100 having at least one commitment.
• GHG emission reduction targets are the most prevalent commitment type at 54%, but alignment with climate science remains low; only 13% of Fortune 500 companies have targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), though 20% have either set or formally committed to do so.
• Target adoption varies significantly by industry. Apparel, hospitality, and food and beverage sectors lead in commitments and SBTs, while financial services, fossil fuel, and retail sectors lag, with fewer than 50% of companies in these industries setting any target.
• Net-zero and carbon-balancing commitments have emerged as a new trend, adopted by 17% of the Fortune 500. However, these targets lack consistency in scope and transparency, with 34% of the commitments having unclear scope 3 coverage and only 31% of these companies possessing an approved SBT.
• Corporate procurement of renewable energy is growing, with 19% of the Fortune 500 setting renewable energy targets and 58 companies committing to 100% renewable energy. In 2020, 23 Fortune 500 companies were involved in 84 of the 98 large renewable energy deals totaling 10.63 GW of capacity.
• Value-chain (scope 3) emissions are often the largest part of a company's footprint—averaging 5.7 times combined scope 1 and 2 emissions for CDP reporters—yet only 18% of the Fortune 500 have targets covering scope 3.
• Analysis of target achievement shows that while 81% of targets ending by 2018 were achieved, energy efficiency targets are the hardest to meet, with 48% of current energy efficiency targets categorized as 'behind' linear progress.

APA

Cervantes, L., Letts, T., Vita, L., Juliani, T., Spitzer, M., Carlson, E., Rothacker, C., & Yuan, C. (2021). Power Forward 4.0. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/345/62y7qtkld0_Power_Forward_4.0.pdf

Chicago

Cervantes, Luz, Tim Letts, Liam Vita, Tim Juliani, Marty Spitzer, Evan Carlson, Catherine Rothacker, and Cihang Yuan. Power Forward 4.0. WWF International, 2021. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/345/62y7qtkld0_Power_Forward_4.0.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{cervantes2021power, author = {Cervantes, Luz and Letts, Tim and Vita, Liam and Juliani, Tim and Spitzer, Marty and Carlson, Evan and Rothacker, Catherine and Yuan, Cihang}, title = {{Power Forward 4.0}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2021}, month = jun, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/345/62y7qtkld0_Power_Forward_4.0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }