Decarbonisation spend to reduce in declining economic conditions
Nearly half of Australian businesses are likely to reduce their spend on decarbonisation initiatives if macroeconomic conditions worsen, according to ENGIE Impact, a sustainability and decarbonisation advisory firm. The finding is based on analysis of data from ENGIE Impact’s latest Net Zero Report titled “Aligning Corporate Vision with Decarbonisation Realities.” The annual global report delves into corporate perspectives on decarbonisation transformation readiness, challenges to implementation and the major decarbonisation roadblocks companies must overcome to reach Net Zero. The study surveyed more than 500 senior executives from the world’s largest companies, each employing more than 10,000 people. Australian organisations surveyed ranged in annual turnover from USD$500 million to over USD$10 billion, and included businesses in the technology, finance, retail, mining, industrial manufacturing, healthcare, real estate, and food and beverage industries. “Reducing spending on decarbonisation initiatives could severely hinder an organisation’s ability to set itself up for the future,” said James Ramsay, Managing Director and Head of Australia, ENGIE Impact. “Now is not the time to Australian organisations to halt progress or investment. They just need to rethink how they measure the success of their decarbonisation strategy.” Few Australian organisations see decarbonisation as a commercial imperative When asked to list their top two choices on how their organisation thinks about its carbon reduction commitments, just 29 per cent of Australians listed decarbonisation as a commercial issue compared to 33 per cent of global peers. Additionally, 58 per cent of Australian businesses see financial ROI as a measure of decarbonisation success versus 44 per cent globally. These responses are in line with findings from last year’s Net Zero report, which found that Australian organisations rank achieving long term cost savings as the top driver of their decarbonisation strategy and goals (44 per cent of respondents), compared to the leading response from global counterparts […]