Can we trust corporate climate pledges or is it greenwashing?

(Context, 14 Feb 2023) Big companies branding themselves as climate leaders often have patchy plans to fulfil their promises, according to new research.

Corporate climate pledges are mushrooming as global companies seek to reassure customers and investors about their green credentials by promising net zero emissions and carbon-neutral products.

But multinational companies branding themselves as climate leaders mostly have "inadequate and ambiguous" plans to fulfil their promises, according to a report published on Monday by the NewClimate Institute, a Berlin-based think-tank.

In an analysis of 24 big firms, from retailers to carmakers and airlines, the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor found their plans only amounted to emissions cuts of just over one-third by the time they have pledged to become net zero.

So how can companies turn their green pledges into significant reductions in planet-heating emissions, and what will it take to protect consumers from greenwashing?

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Context, 14 Feb 2023: Can we trust corporate climate pledges or is it greenwashing?