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climate survey 2025
How companies are tackling the climate challenge and creating value
By Charlotte Degot, Diana Dimitrova, Hamid Maher, Hubertus Meinecke, Chrissy O’Brien, Rebecca Russell, and Hassan Siddiqui
Key Takeaways
This year’s findings reinforce a key insight: Despite public signals of retreat, companies are quietly accelerating climate action where it creates business value generating financial returns and long-term resilience through targeted investments and digital tool
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Public disclosures, target-setting, and CEO discussions have declined, but most companies are sustaining or increasing actual climate investments.
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Over 80% of companies report economic benefits from decarbonization, with some capturing a return on investment that exceeds 10% of revenue.
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Leading companies distinguish themselves by measuring comprehensively, using carbon pricing and transition plans, and leaning heavily on advanced digital solutions, such as AI, IoT, and satellites, to unlock tangible value.
At first glance, corporate momentum on climate action seems to be stalling.
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Only 7% of large companies comprehensively report their greenhouse gas emissions.
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Just 13% have set targets that cover all emissions sources (Scopes 1, 2, and 3)
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Only 12% fully measure their climate risks.
Yet our survey shows that companies are investing in climate action where there is a business case around strategic risk management and compelling financial incentives. More than four out of five companies we surveyed reported financial gains from their decarbonization efforts, and nearly half of respondents said their average return on investment for climate risk investments was more than 10%.
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Survey Methodology
BCG and CO2 AI surveyed 1,924 executives responsible for their company’s emissions measurement, reporting, and reduction initiatives. These companies came from 16 major industries and 26 countries. Each organization has at least 1,000 employees and annual revenue of at least $100 million. This year, we also examined how companies are making progress in climate adaptation and resilience.
Financial Outcomes Are Driving Action
Companies are discovering that climate action can deliver real value—not just in risk reduction, reputational benefits, and future readiness, but in financial returns. Strikingly, 82% of surveyed companies say they have captured economic benefits from decarbonization, with 6% reporting value that exceeds 10% of annual revenue; that is, a net value (after accounting for costs) of $221 million per company. These benefits stem from:
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Revenue growth from sustainable products. BCG studies in automotive, home appliance, and fashion found that more than half of customers view sustainability as important, with a substantial portion willing to pay more for sustainable products across categories. Increasingly, companies are investing in green businesses to take advantage of the sustainability value proposition.
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Operational savings from efficiency gains and resource optimization. Companies are discovering that many climate initiatives—like smart metering or making buildings more efficient—not only reduce emissions but also lower costs, making them profitable rather than an expense.
Companies also see the value at stake for climate adaptation and resilience. Physical risks, such as storms and rising seas, can damage assets, while transition risks, including policy and market shifts, can disrupt operations and profitability. Companies that have assessed both types of risk estimate an average climate-related financial exposure of $790 million by 2030.
Anticipating that exposure, companies are already seeing the upside of investing in climate adaptation and resilience. Those actively investing in adaptation are achieving near-term financial gains equal to 1% of revenue. Nearly half of the companies report that their climate risk adaptation efforts generate a return on investment of more than 10%—demonstrating that proactive preparation delivers real and measurable value
Advanced Tools for Turning Climate Goals into Action
As companies scale up their climate investments and goals, they are also strengthening how they finance and operationalize climate action. Two practices—internal carbon pricing and climate transition plans—are becoming key features of climate strategies.
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Carbon pricing. One-third of the companies we surveyed have implemented a carbon price; that is, they have assigned a monetary value to their carbon emissions to incentivize decarbonization. By putting a cost on emissions, carbon pricing helps companies embed carbon considerations into budgeting and identify the most practical path to decarbonization.
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Climate transition plans. The adoption of climate transition plans has increased 5% year-over-year, and 61% of current transition plans have board-level approval. This uptick may be due in part to new rules and regulations—such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the PRC Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, or the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards—that require companies to disclose information on their environmental andsocial impact. Climate transition plans offer clear roadmaps for how organizations intend to meet their goals, complete with interim targets and accountability structures.
Together, these tools represent an important shift from loose aspirations to operationalized climate strategies.
What Sets Leaders Apart
A small group of companies have cracked the code on sustainability. By making it central to strategy, they’re realizing financial benefits worth roughly 10% of their revenue. They’re not treating climate as compliance. They’re using it as a growth and resilience engine. Four enablers set leaders apart:
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Comprehensive emissions and risk measurement (1.4x more likely to achieve significant revenue)
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Quantification of impact through internal carbon pricing and risk modeling (1.6x)
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Adoption of transition and adaptation plans (2.2x)
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Use of multiple advanced digital solutions (2.3x)
Eight digital technologies are driving measurable sustainability outcomes:
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Predictive AI to forecast emissions, demand, and climate risks; for example, predicting
energy demands or forecasting crop yields
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Generative AI to design low-carbon solutions and pathways, such as sustainable product
concepts and net zero roadmaps
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AI agents to automate critical tasks, such as tracking carbon emissions and managing
smart buildings
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Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to collect real-time climate data, such as smart meters for
energy use, soil sensors for moisture levels, and cold chain trackers for temperature
control
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Advanced cloud and quantum computing to enable high-speed modeling of complex
scenarios like solar cell performance and power grid optimization
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Immersive technologies, like AR/VR, to simulate climate impacts or train teams; for
instance, visualizing heat loss or conducting virtual site audits
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Earth observation using satellite imagery and analytics to track climate conditions, such
as methane emissions, glacier melt, and carbon mapping
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Drones to capture localized climate data with precision; for example, to detect methane
leaks or monitor forest health.
Among climate leaders, digital tools are the single strongest predictor of value creation. Leading companies are deploying advanced technologies more broadly than their peers, particularly in adaptation and resilience.
They are leaning heavily on technologies like AI, IoT, and other solutions not only to support their climate ambitions but also to enable business growth. While these technologies unlock new value, their climate impact depends on the infrastructure behind them. Ensuring that the data centers powering these solutions are green is critical to achieving a truly net-positive impact.
Advanced Digital Case Studies in Action
General Mills, a global consumer goods company, is using digital innovation to accelerate its progress towards net-zero by 2050. General Mills is working with CO2 AI to integrate carbon data into its core data systems and workflows. This enables the organization to automate emissions reporting, improve data accuracy, and support Scope 3 performance tracking. The digital platform not only improves accuracy in emissions reporting, but also lets the company track supply chain emissions and measure how suppliers affect General Mills’ overall footprint.
Jessica Jubara, who leads the company’s climate strategy and roadmap development, said, “General Mills is continuing to invest in several Scope 3 initiatives, like supplier-specific emissions data collection, that will allow us to scale our decarbonization and support our suppliers on their own sustainability journeys.”
As a global leader in plant nutrition, OCP Group is implementing a comprehensive climate strategy that integrates mitigation, adaptation, innovation, and inclusive growth, while addressing the urgent challenge of feeding a growing world population. Through its $13 billion Green Investment Plan, OCP is accelerating its transition to carbon neutrality by 2040 (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) by scaling up green hydrogen and ammonia production and shifting to 100% clean electricity by 2027. In addition, it has relied on 100% unconventional desalinated water since early 2025.
Beyond industrial decarbonization, OCP embraces a farmer-centric, innovation-led approach to support the transition to climate-smart agriculture. Through its subsidiary OCP Africa, the Al Moutmir program, Tourba, its carbon project developer, and other flagship initiatives, OCP provides soil testing, tailored fertilizer recommendations, support for sustainable agricultural practices, and carbon credit generation. These efforts are enabled by advanced technologies, helping to scale resilience and productivity across the agricultural value chain. These are a few examples of how OCP approaches the climate challenge—as both a duty and an opportunity, one that demands bold action on both mitigation and adaptation.
What Companies Can Do Now
Leading companies are advancing the sustainability agenda while building value by adopting tools and solutions that enable their journey. Here are some fundamental actions companies can take now:
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Measure and track climate impact, whether it be emissions, climate risk, or wider environmental and social impacts. You cannot improve what you do not measure.
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Quantify sustainability impact through in-depth climate risk modeling and/or carbon pricing. The business case for climate action will become clear.
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Build a transition plan that enables the company to meet its climate obligations effectively and cost-efficiently.
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Ensure alignment with the enterprise’s overall strategy. Lean-in to advanced digital solutions to unlock value from sustainability, such as automating measurement or predicting impact. These technologies aren’t hypothetical, they’re already in use.
Despite headwinds, companies are staying the course and continuing their climate agenda where it helps them stay competitive. They’re investing in what matters, operationalizing climate plans, and deploying digital capabilities at scale.
What’s happening is profound: a steady, determined shift toward value-driven, digitally enabled climate leadership. The companies investing today are building the resilience, reputation, and advantage that will define tomorrow.
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