Wedoany.com Report on Mar 7th, A survey of over 3,500 companies that have made climate commitments reveals that the vast majority face risks of "greenwashing," with up to 96% of the sample falling short on at least one risk indicator.

Described by its authors as the largest study of its kind, this research paints a bleak picture of corporate climate pledges. Elizabeth Brown, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina's Data-Driven EnviroLab and one of the study's authors, stated, "We don't want to accuse companies of doing something wrong. This is more of an invitation than an attack, aiming to show how easy it is to boost credibility a little."

The research team drew on industry-standard sources to identify seven indicators that could signal "greenwashing" behavior. These include: lack of interim emissions targets, targets not covering Scope 3 emissions, the company not having a plan to achieve its targets, targets relying on carbon offsets without specifying how, targets covering only CO2 while ignoring other greenhouse gases, the company engaging in lobbying activities that undermine climate action, and the company not making substantive progress towards its goals.

Using corporate commitment and emissions data collected from three non-profit initiatives—CDP, Net Zero Tracker, and InfluenceMap—the researchers scored 3,574 companies that had made some form of climate commitment. The most prominent issue was Scope 3 emissions: 70% of companies excluded value chain emissions from their targets, even though such emissions typically constitute the largest part of a company's carbon footprint. Other common indicators included questionable use of carbon offsets (40%), lack of interim targets (21%), and lack of substantive progress towards goals (20%). After combining the results, only 4% of companies showed no indicator of risk.

The study also raises questions about how companies oversee their commitments. Brown noted, "Existing voluntary framework guidelines don't really incentivize companies to avoid all 'greenwashing' issues." For example, the Science Based Targets initiative's current corporate net-zero standard requires covering Scope 3 emissions and greenhouse gases beyond CO2, but while transition plans and lobbying disclosure are encouraged, they are not mandatory. An updated version of the standard is in the final stages of consultation, requiring large companies to develop transition plans, but the wording regarding lobbying remains a recommendation rather than a requirement.