KPMG’s eleventh CEO Outlook shows that leaders are positive, if cautious, about the future, and climate targets are within that optimistic arena.

Most corporate leaders remain strongly committed to their sustainability goals and are increasingly confident in meeting them.


In particular, 61 per cent of CEOs say they are on track to hit their 2030 net-zero targets, a ten per cent increase from a year ago.

The biggest hurdles to achieving net-zero are seen to be the complexity of decarbonising the supply chain (25 per cent of CEOs cited this) and a lack of skills and expertise to successfully implement solutions (21 per cent). Cost is seen as a lesser issue and cited by only 11 per cent of leaders.

When it comes to green tech, CEOs are recognising the potential of AI to support decarbonisation and sustainability efforts. The top uses include improving sustainability data quality and reporting (79 per cent), identifying opportunities for resource efficiency (79 per cent) and reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency (78 per cent).

Another priority is reporting with half (51 per cent) of corporate leaders saying they are prioritising compliance and reporting standards to meet evolving investor and regulatory demands.

Two-thirds (65 per cent) of CEOs say that they have fully embedded sustainability into their business and believe it is critical to their long-term success. However, there is still work to be done when it comes to incorporating sustainability considerations into capital expenditure decisions, with only 29 per cent saying that they are comprehensively integrated.

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