Some 84% of companies on the S&P 500 index disclosed climate targets in 2025, but the majority have yet to make meaningful progress in reducing emissions, according to a new report from The Conference Board and ESGAUGE.
As the report found, the majority of S&P 500 firms have set targets to become net zero by 2030 or 2040, while more than two thirds (68%) have set emissions reduction targets.
However, close to two thirds (58%) of companies that have set Scope 1 emissions targets have been unable to meaningfully reduced emissions since 2021, while for Scope 3 emissions, this share rises to 62%.
‘A difficult phase’
“Many corporate climate targets are entering a more difficult phase,” said Andrew Jones, author of the report and principal researcher at The Conference Board.
“As 2030 moves from a long-term milestone to a near-term deadline, companies may need more capital, clearer execution plans, or recalibration – but recalibration isn’t automatically a rollback. In many cases, it reflects a more realistic assessment of what it will take to achieve those goals.”
Where firms have made progress, however, is with regard to Scope 2, relating to purchased electricity, heating and cooling – yet here too, two fifths (40%) of businesses that have put targets in place have reported flat or increasing emissions.
The report also indicates growing uncertainty among sustainability executives as to whether they believe their climate targets can be met – only a quarter (24%) of those surveyed said that they were ‘fully confident’ that their company will achieve its goals, while 59% reported mixed or low confidence.
The primary obstacle, as cited by 55% of executives, are financial considerations, such as costs, capital allocation or return on investment, while other concerns cited include evolving regulatory requirements (45%) and the readiness of low-carbon technologies (37%).
‘Competing priorities’
“The challenge for many companies isn’t a lack of climate ambition, but competing priorities,” commented Brian Campbell, leader of The Conference Board Governance & Sustainability Center.
“Climate investments are increasingly being weighed against AI, infrastructure, and other business-critical initiatives, making capital allocation a defining factor in whether climate targets stay on track.”
The findings are based on sustainability disclosures from S&P 500 and Russell 3000 companies covering the 2021-2025 reporting period, alongside a survey of more than 50 sustainability executives at large multinational US companies conducted in January 2026. Read more here.
