EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS

The report finds that the world's largest private companies significantly lag behind their publicly-listed counterparts in setting net zero targets and publishing implementation plans. While 69% of the top 100 public companies have net zero targets, only 32% of the top 100 private companies do. Furthermore, only 13% of private companies with targets have published a plan to achieve them, compared to 73% of public companies. The analysis highlights a 'blind spot' in climate accountability, particularly in high-emitting sectors like fossil fuels, where none of the investigated private firms have pledged net zero. The authors warn of 'fossil-spinning,' where public companies divest carbon-intensive assets to less-regulated private firms, and call for mandatory climate disclosure for large private entities to ensure whole-economy decarbonisation.

• Private companies are significantly less likely to set net zero targets than publicly-listed companies; only 32 of the top 100 private firms have set such targets, compared to 69 of the top 100 publicly-listed firms.
• There is a severe lack of implementation plans among private companies that have made net zero pledges; only 13% (4 companies) have published a plan, whereas 73% (50 companies) of their publicly-listed counterparts have done so.
• In high-emitting sectors—including fossil fuels, infrastructure, power generation, manufacturing, and materials—private companies show very low engagement, with only 17% (5 of 29) setting net zero targets compared to 70% (28 of 40) of public companies.
• None of the eight private fossil fuel companies investigated have pledged a net zero target, in contrast to 65% of publicly-listed companies in the same sector.
• Private companies' net zero pledges are generally lower in quality, with only 34% including interim targets and 69% failing to specify the planned use of external carbon offsets.
• The report identifies a trend of 'fossil-spinning,' where reputation-conscious publicly-listed companies divest polluting assets to private firms to improve their own climate profiles without reducing overall global emissions.

APA

Lang, J., Black, R., Fowks, L., Kuramochi, T., Hyslop, C., Hale, T., Hay, N., Yeo, Z. Y., Hans, F., Chalkley, P., Smith, S., & Hsu, A. (2022). EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS. Net Zero Tracker. https://ca1-nzt.edcdn.com/PDFs-and-Excels/Everybodys_Business_Net_Zero_Blind_Spot.pdf?v=1666071844

Chicago

Lang, John, Richard Black, Lyndsey Fowks, Takeshi Kuramochi, Camilla Hyslop, Tom Hale, Nick Hay, et al. EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS. Net Zero Tracker, 2022. https://ca1-nzt.edcdn.com/PDFs-and-Excels/Everybodys_Business_Net_Zero_Blind_Spot.pdf?v=1666071844.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lang |first1=John |last2=Black |first2=Richard |last3=Fowks |first3=Lyndsey |last4=Kuramochi |first4=Takeshi |last5=Hyslop |first5=Camilla |last6=Hale |first6=Tom |last7=Hay |first7=Nick |last8=Yeo |first8=Zhi Yi |last9=Hans |first9=Frederic |display-authors=etal |title=EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS |publisher=Net Zero Tracker |date=18 October 2022 |url=https://ca1-nzt.edcdn.com/PDFs-and-Excels/Everybodys_Business_Net_Zero_Blind_Spot.pdf?v=1666071844 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lang2022everybodys, author = {Lang, John and Black, Richard and Fowks, Lyndsey and Kuramochi, Takeshi and Hyslop, Camilla and Hale, Tom and Hay, Nick and Yeo, Zhi Yi and Hans, Frederic and Chalkley, Peter and Smith, Steve and Hsu, Angel}, title = {{EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS}}, institution = {Net Zero Tracker}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://ca1-nzt.edcdn.com/PDFs-and-Excels/Everybodys_Business_Net_Zero_Blind_Spot.pdf?v=1666071844}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }