Environment

80% of Companies Building Net-Zero Programs Ahead of Legislation

Aug. 22, 2024

Strategy is to embrace sustainability rather than reactive compliance, says new survey from EcoOnline.

Legislation recently introduced in California is causing companies to review their environmental strategies, according to a new survey, 2024 U.S. Sustainability Readiness Report by EcoOnline, released on August 15.

The survey found that over 80% of companies are proactively building net-zero programs.

In late 2023, California introduced two measures to accelerate climate action:

SB 253: Requires companies with over $1B in annual revenues to disclose GHG emissions, with fines for non-compliance up to $500K.
SB 261: Mandates companies with over $500M in revenues to report climate-related financial risks, with penalties up to $50K per incident.

"Our survey highlights a critical tipping point where U.S. companies are boldly moving beyond reactive compliance and penalty avoidance, embracing sustainability as a powerful engine for growth," said Tom Goodmanson, CEO of EcoOnline, in a statement. "While they are committed to these initiatives, the specifics of how they will achieve their goals remain uncertain. This underscores the need for clear strategies and robust technology solutions to navigate the evolving regulatory landscape and drive meaningful impact."

Key findings include:

Sustainability and Growth: 73% of respondents view sustainability as a way to drive revenue growth, with 94% seeing it as a means to increase brand value.
Executive Leadership: For 40% of respondents, the CEO or board is leading sustainability efforts or being held accountable for them.
Budgets for Success: 85% of respondents plan to increase their sustainability budgets within the next three years. However, only 25% of companies have specific budgets fully funded and prioritized by the C-Suite and board.
Cost Allocation: 25% of companies are working within their current budgets, 40% have a specific budget dedicated to sustainability.
Technology as an Enabler: 84% of respondents plan to deploy dedicated or purpose-built sustainability software to comply with legislation.