According to www.esgtoday.com, 82% of companies are maintaining or accelerating their climate goals — challenging the notion that sustainability efforts have plateaued amid heightened political scrutiny. The finding comes from PwC’s third annual State of Decarbonization report, which analyzed data from 3,547 companies across industries, geographies, and sizes using CDP disclosures, CSRD reports, 10-K filings, S&P Capital IQ, the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and other public sources.
Steady Commitment, Sharper Targets
While the proportion of companies increasing their commitments declined to 23% in 2025 (down from 36% in the prior year), those pulling back remained a small minority: only 18% — up slightly from 16% in 2024. The report notes that although the growth rate in new decarbonization target setting slowed to 7% over the past year, newly announced targets are increasingly rigorous — with most now aligned to science-based or externally validated criteria.
Operational Progress on Scope 1 & 2
Progress on direct and purchased energy emissions is advancing: 69% of companies are now assessed as being on track to meet their Scope 1 and 2 targets. This comes despite persistent energy price volatility and reliability concerns. Supporting this shift, global investment in industrial sector energy efficiency rose 45% between 2020 and 2025, reaching approximately $30 billion.
Scope 2 Headwinds Emerge
The report identifies three key challenges for Scope 2 progress: intensifying competition for clean energy resources driven by AI and data center expansion; proposed updates to the GHG Protocol Scope 2 rules imposing stricter renewable energy procurement requirements; and a less supportive policy environment — evidenced by a 19% decline in contracted power purchase agreement (PPA) volumes in the U.S. and Europe in 2025.
Supply Chain Focus Intensifies
Decarbonization efforts are increasingly extending into the value chain. According to the report, 56% of companies are on track against their Scope 3 emissions pathways in 2025 — up from 54% in 2024 and 50% in 2023. This improvement correlates with measurable advances in supplier engagement:
- 75% of Fortune 500 companies now have visibility beyond tier-1 suppliers — up from 50% in 2023
- 64% have structured and scaled decarbonization programs for suppliers — versus 35% in 2023
- 7% now offer decarbonization incentives to suppliers — a category absent in 2023
- 76% have set broad supplier decarbonization requirements — up from 51% in 2023
Scope 3 emissions disclosure is also expanding: the number of companies disclosing Scope 3 data or broadening reporting to include additional emissions categories increased by 30% over the previous year.
Downstream Ripple Effects
As large enterprises deepen supply chain pressure, smaller firms are responding. The median revenue of companies setting Scope 1 and 2 goals in 2025 was $1.1 billion — down sharply from $4.1 billion in 2020 — indicating broader participation across company sizes.
AI in Sustainability: Early Adoption, Limited Measurement
The report found that 60% of companies now report using AI for operational decarbonization — yet fewer than 1% quantify actual emissions reductions attributable to those AI initiatives. Only 14% publicly report using AI to improve sustainability or emissions reporting — highlighting a major opportunity in addressing data quality and transparency challenges.
Source: www.esgtoday.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
