Net Zero Climate Commitments: Realistic Goal or Branding Exercise?

by Andrew Isaacs and Natàlia Costa i Coromina
01 Jan 2023

In 2022, companies of all sizes and across multiple industries started to create and publicly announce Net Zero climate commitments. At the time, there was no generally accepted definition of 'Net Zero' and instead, each company defined what metrics were included in tracking their commitment. Further, there was no globally recognized third-party accountability mechanism that would assure that these promises were being fulfilled; leaving companies to report their own progress without outside, independent verification. As a result, many questions around the validity of these claims and their true impact on climate change were left unanswered.

Learning Objectives

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1) Understand the business, social and ethical issues associated with corporate Net Zero claims. 2) Learn some of the essentials of how to assess the veracity of Net Zero claims and consequential efforts to become carbon-neutral.

Details

Pub Date: January 1, 2023

Discipline: Corporate Social Responsibility

Subjects: Green marketing, Green business, Marketing ethics, Unethical marketing practices, Environmental performance, Environmental policy, Environmental responsibility, Environmental stewardship, Environmental sustainability, Corporate image, Corporate reputation, Global corporate citizenship

Product #: B6030-PDF-ENG

Industry: Petroleum Products, Banking, Technology

Geography: United States

Length: 6 page(s)