Following the UK Government’s announcement to be Net Zero by 2050 many businesses have set their own ambitious targets to tackle climate change.
With more and more companies joining the race to net zero, targets are becoming more ambitious and on tighter timelines. This level of ambition is inspiring but targets must stand up to scrutiny. The journey of how a company gets to net zero is just as important as simply getting there.
Below is a list of companies who have recently aligned their company strategy and brand to place net zero at the forefront of their business.
BT (15 September 2018) net zero carbon business by 2045
Verizon (22 April 2019) net zero by 2035
British Airways (11 October 2019) net zero by 2050
Ikea (27 November 2019) ‘climate-positive’ by 2030
Land Securities (8 November 2019) net zero emissions by 2030
National Trust (9 January 2020) net zero emissions by 2030
Microsoft (16 January 2020) net zero by 2030, with an additional goal of removing all carbon emitted since it was founded in 1975
AstraZeneca (22 January 2020) carbon-negative by 2030, and net zero operational carbon emissions by 2025
Sainsbury’s (28 January 2020) net zero emissions by 2040
Mace (29 January 2020) net zero carbon by 2020
EY (31 January 2020) carbon neutral by 2020
Sky (4 February 2020) net zero by 2030
BP (12 Febraury 2020) net zero by 2050
Sir Robert McAlpine (19 February 2020) net zero by 2024
Mitie (20 February 2020) net zero by 2025
Cemex (21 February 2020) net zero concrete by 2050
O2 (03 March 2020) net zero network and operations by 2025
Barclays (30 March 2020) net zero by 2050
Shell (20 April 2020) net zero by 2050
CMS (24 April 2020) net zero by 2025
Jacob’s Engineering (24 April 2020) net zero by 2030
Total (5 May 2020) net zero by 2050
University of Manchester (29 May 2020) net zero investment portfolio 2038
Tetra Pak (11 June 2020) net zero value chain by 2050
Unilever (14 June 2020) net zero by 2039
British Land (23 June 2020) net zero portfolio by 2030
Barrett Developments (30 June 2020) net zero by 2040
Lucozade Ribena Suntory (01 July 2020) net zero value chain by 2050
M&G Real Estate (13 July 2020) net zero operational emissions by 2030 and net zero across its real estate portfolio by 2050
Apple (21 July 2020) net zero by 2030
Capgemini (24 July 2020) net zero operations and supply chain by 2030
Novo Nordisk (04 August 2020) net zero by 2030
HMRC (01 September 2020) net zero by 2040
Ikea (02 September 2020) climate positive by 2030
PwC (15 September 2020) net zero by 2030
IAG (11 September 2020) net zero carbon emissions by 2050
Japan Airlines (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Qantas (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Finnair (11 September 2020) carbon neutrality by 2045
American Airlines (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Cathay Pacific (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Iberia (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Malaysia Airlines (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Qatar Airways (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Royal Air Moroc (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Royal Jordanian (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
S7 Airlines (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Sri Lankan Airlines (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Fiji Airways (11 September 2020) net zero by 2050
Facebook (15 September 2020) net zero value chain by 2030
Nespresso (17 September 2020) carbon neutrality by 2022
Arup (22 September 2020) net zero 2030
Bolt (22 September 2020) climate positive by end of 2020
Spirax-Sarco (22 September 2020) net zero by 2040
LafargeHolcim (22 September) net zero by 2050
NHS (01 October 2020) net zero by 2040
Aviva Investors Pension Scheme (02 October 2020) net zero by 2050
BT Pension Scheme (08 October 2020) net zero by 2035
HSBC (09 October 2020) net zero financed emissions by 2050
City of London Corporation (12 October 2020) net zero by 2040
John Lewis (19 October 2020) net zero by 2035
Dentsu International (22 October 2020) net zero by 2030
Lime (23 October 2020) net zero by 2030
Equinor (03 November 2020) net zero by 2050
KPMG (09 November 2020) net zero by 2030
Tesco (16 November 2020) net zero by 2035
Henkel (18 November 2020) net zero by 2040 under Amazon’s Climate Pledge
Diageo (23 November 2020) net zero operations by 2030
Vodafone (23 November 2020) net zero by 2040 and net zero carbon emissions from operations by 2027
Coca-Cola European Partners (07 December 2020) net zero by 2040
Glencore (07 December 2020) net zero by 2050
Canary Wharf Group (09 December 2020) net zero by 2030
WHSmith (11 December 2020) net zero emissions by 2025
PepsiCo (14 January 2021) net zero by 2040
BBC (14 January 2021) net zero by 2030
Aviva Investors Real Assets (January 2021) net zero by 2040
CDL (03 February 2021) net zero operations by 2030
Avantium (4 February 2021) net zero operations by 2030
Centrica (25 February 2021) net zero by 2045
Aviva plc (1 March 2021) net zero operations, supply chain by 2030 and investments by 2040
Burger King (19 April 2021) net zero operations by 2030
Fora (19 April 2021) net zero by 2030
Mulberry (19 April 2021) net zero by 2030
Nestle (19 April 2021) net zero by 2050
Visa (19 April 2021) net zero by 2040
Whitbread (19 April 2021) net zero by 2040
WPP (19 April 2021) net zero by 20430
Dell (20 April 2021) net zero by 2050
Co-op (5 May 2021) carbon neutrality across own-brand food and drink by 2025
Highland Spring (4 June 2021) net zero by 2040
Tyson Foods (15 June 2021) net zero by 2050
Burberry (14 June 2021) climate positive by 2040
What you can do next
Before setting a net zero target, it is imperative that a business develops a clear roadmap of the actions that will reduce its own emissions as far as possible in the first instance. Announcing a net zero target without a clear strategic roadmap may well have the opposite effect to what was intended – it risks damaging your green credentials more than enhancing them.
Our team of carbon experts are working across a range a sectors to develop credible net zero strategies and we can help you and your board set a strategy that will stand the test of time and position your business as a true market leader.
Further resources
Interactive Assessment | See how your sustainability strategy performs against your sector peers
Download | Net Zero: The Guide for Business
Download | Net Zero: The Guide for Commercial Real Estate
Download | Net Zero: The Guide for Professional Services
Contact a member of the team at Carbon Intelligence if you would like to check if your net zero target strategy will stand up to scrutiny and how it compares to others in your sector. Email info@carbon.ci