Green
Visualizing the Climate Targets of Fortune 500 Companies
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Visualized: The Climate Targets of Fortune 500 Companies
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The Fortune Global 500 is a ranking of the world’s 500 largest companies by revenue. In 2019, this influential group employed 70 million people and generated revenues of over $33 trillion.
Given their size and influence, many of these companies are taking climate action quite seriously. For example, 30% of the group have either achieved a climate goal or are publicly committed to doing so by 2030—a significant increase from just 6% in 2016.
In this infographic, we’ve used data from Natural Capital Partners to provide a holistic view of when Fortune Global 500 companies plan to meet their stated climate goals.
Climate Action Takes Several Forms
When taking climate action, businesses have a variety of targets they can pursue. Three of the most common ones include carbon neutrality, RE100, and science based targets (SBT).
Climate target type | Description |
---|---|
Carbon neutral | Achieved when a company completely offsets its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. |
RE100 | Achieved when a company relies on 100% renewable energy. |
Science based targets (SBT) | Emissions are reduced in line with the need to keep global warming below 2ºC. |
After choosing a target, businesses can also set a date for when they intend to achieve it. As the above graphic shows, many companies are targeting 2030, a year that is frequently touted as a deadline for meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.
A fourth target known as “net zero emissions” is also used, though its exact definition tends to vary. For the purposes of this infographic, we’ve considered a commitment to net zero emissions to be the same as achieving carbon neutrality.
A Complete Overview
The following table summarizes the climate actions of Fortune Global 500 companies. Firms that made commitments without a target date have been noted in the table with a “C”.
Company Name | Headquarters | Carbon Neutral (target date) | RE100 (target date) | SBT (target date) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Commonwealth Bank of Australia | 🇦🇺Australia | 2030 | ||
Westpac Banking | 🇦🇺Australia | 2013 | 2025 | |
Woolworths Group | 🇦🇺Australia | C | ||
Anheuser-Busch InBev | 🇧🇪Belgium | 2025 | 2025 | |
Banco Bradesco | 🇧🇷Brazil | 2019 | ||
Banco do Brasil | 🇧🇷Brazil | 2019 | ||
Caixa Econômica Federal | 🇧🇷Brazil | 2018 | ||
Vale | 🇧🇷Brazil | 2050 | ||
Bank of Montreal | 🇨🇦Canada | 2010 | ||
Royal Bank of Canada | 🇨🇦Canada | 2017 | ||
Toronto-Dominion Bank | 🇨🇦Canada | 2010 | ||
Lenovo Group | 🇨🇳China | 2030 | ||
Xiamen ITG Holding Group | 🇨🇳China | C | ||
Maersk Group | 🇩🇰Denmark | 2050 | ||
Nokia | 🇫🇮Finland | 2030 | ||
Auchan Holding | 🇫🇷France | |||
AXA | 🇫🇷France | 2025 | ||
BNP Paribas | 🇫🇷France | 2017 | ||
Carrefour | 🇫🇷France | 2030 | ||
CMA CGM | 🇫🇷France | 2050 | ||
Crédit Agricole | 🇫🇷France | C | ||
Danone | 🇫🇷France | 2050 | 2030 | 2030 |
Electricité de France | 🇫🇷France | 2050 | ||
Engie | 🇫🇷France | 2030 | ||
L'Oréal | 🇫🇷France | 2020 | 2027 | |
La Poste | 🇫🇷France | 2012 | 2020 | 2025 |
Michelin | 🇫🇷France | 2030 | ||
Orange | 🇫🇷France | 2040 | ||
Renault | 🇫🇷France | 2030 | ||
Saint-Gobain | 🇫🇷France | 2025 | ||
Sanofi | 🇫🇷France | 2030 | ||
Schneider Electric | 🇫🇷France | 2025 | 2030 | 2030 |
Siemens | 🇫🇷France | 2030 | ||
Société Générale | 🇫🇷France | C | ||
Veolia Environnement | 🇫🇷France | 2034 | ||
Vinci | 🇫🇷France | 2050 | ||
Adidas | 🇩🇪Germany | 2050 | ||
Allianz | 🇩🇪Germany | 2012 | 2023 | |
Bayer | 🇩🇪Germany | 2030 | ||
BMW Group | 🇩🇪Germany | 2050 | ||
Bosch Group | 🇩🇪Germany | 2020 | ||
Continental | 🇩🇪Germany | 2040 | 2030 | |
Daimler | 🇩🇪Germany | 2039 | ||
Deutsche Bahn | 🇩🇪Germany | 2050 | 2030 | |
Deutsche Bank | 🇩🇪Germany | 2013 | ||
Deutsche Post DHL Group | 🇩🇪Germany | 2050 | ||
Deutsche Telekom | 🇩🇪Germany | 2050 | 2021 | 2030 |
E.ON | 🇩🇪Germany | 2040 | ||
Metro | 🇩🇪Germany | 2030 | ||
Munich Re Group | 🇩🇪Germany | 2015 | ||
SAP | 🇩🇪Germany | 2025 | 2014 | 2025 |
ThyssenKrupp | 🇩🇪Germany | 2030 | ||
Uniper | 🇩🇪Germany | 2035 | ||
Volkswagen | 🇩🇪Germany | 2050 | ||
ZF Friedrichshafen | 🇩🇪Germany | 2040 | ||
State Bank of India | 🇮🇳India | 2030 | ||
Tata Motors | 🇮🇳India | 2030 | ||
Accenture | 🇮🇪Ireland | 2023 | 2025 | |
CRH | 🇮🇪Ireland | 2050 | ||
Johnson Controls International | 🇮🇪Ireland | C | ||
Enel | 🇮🇹Italy | 2050 | 2030 | |
ENI | 🇮🇹Italy | 2030 | ||
AEON | 🇯🇵Japan | 2050 | 2030 | 2027 |
Dai-ichi Life Holdings | 🇯🇵Japan | 2050 | ||
Daiwa House Industry | 🇯🇵Japan | 2040 | 2030 | |
Fujitsu | 🇯🇵Japan | 2050 | 2030 | |
Hitachi | 🇯🇵Japan | C | ||
Mitsubishi Electric | 🇯🇵Japan | 2030 | ||
NEC | 🇯🇵Japan | 2050 | 2030 | |
Nissan Motor | 🇯🇵Japan | 2050 | ||
Panasonic | 🇯🇵Japan | 2050 | 2030 | |
Sompo Holdings | 🇯🇵Japan | C | ||
Sony | 🇯🇵Japan | 2040 | 2020 | |
Sumitomo Electric Industries | 🇯🇵Japan | 2050 | ||
Takeda Pharmaceutical | 🇯🇵Japan | 2019 | 2025 | |
Tokio Marine Holdings | 🇯🇵Japan | 2011 | ||
Toshiba | 🇯🇵Japan | |||
Toyota Motor | 🇯🇵Japan | 2050 | ||
América Móvil | 🇲🇽Mexico | 2050 | ||
Achmea | 🇳🇱Netherlands | 2011 | ||
Aegon | 🇳🇱Netherlands | 2016 | ||
Heineken Holding | 🇳🇱Netherlands | C | ||
ING Group | 🇳🇱Netherlands | 2007 | 2020 | |
Equinor | 🇳🇴Norway | 2030 | ||
Anglo American | 🇿🇦South Africa | 2040 | ||
Hyundai Motor | 🇰🇷South Korea | 2050 | ||
LG Electronics | 🇰🇷South Korea | 2030 | ||
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria | 🇪🇸Spain | 2020 | 2030 | |
Banco Santander | 🇪🇸Spain | 2020 | ||
Iberdrola | 🇪🇸Spain | 2050 | 2030 | |
Inditex | 🇪🇸Spain | C | ||
Mapfre Group | 🇪🇸Spain | 2030 | ||
Naturgy Energy Group | 🇪🇸Spain | C | ||
Telefónica | 🇪🇸Spain | 2030 | 2030 | 2025 |
Volvo | 🇸🇪Sweden | 2025 | ||
ABB | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 2018 | ||
Adecco Group | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 2030 | ||
Coop Group | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 2023 | ||
Credit Suisse Group | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 2010 | 2025 | |
LafargeHolcim | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 2030 | ||
Migros Group | 🇨🇭Switzerland | C | ||
Nestlé | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 2020 | ||
Novartis | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 2025 | 2030 | |
Swiss Re | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 2003 | 2020 | |
Zurich Insurance Group | 🇨🇭Switzerland | 2014 | 2022 | |
Fubon Financial Holding | 🇹🇼Taiwan | C | ||
PTT | 🇹🇭Thailand | C | ||
Aviva | 🇬🇧UK | 2006 | 2025 | |
Barclays | 🇬🇧UK | 2030 | ||
British American Tobacco | 🇬🇧UK | 2030 | 2028 | |
BT Group | 🇬🇧UK | 2020 | 2030 | |
Compass Group | 🇬🇧UK | C | ||
GlaxoSmithKline | 🇬🇧UK | 2050 | 2027 | |
HSBC Holdings | 🇬🇧UK | 2030 | ||
J. Sainsbury | 🇬🇧UK | 2040 | ||
Linde | 🇬🇧UK | C | ||
Phoenix Group Holdings | 🇬🇧UK | 2030 | ||
Tesco | 🇬🇧UK | 2050 | 2030 | 2027 |
Unilever | 🇬🇧UK | 2020 | 2030 | |
Vodafone Group | 🇬🇧UK | 2025 | ||
3M | 🇺🇸USA | 2050 | ||
Alphabet | 🇺🇸USA | 2007 | 2017 | |
Amazon.com | 🇺🇸USA | 2040 | 2025 | 2040 |
American Express | 🇺🇸USA | 2018 | ||
Anthem | 🇺🇸USA | 2025 | ||
Apple | 🇺🇸USA | 2020 | 2020 | |
AT&T | 🇺🇸USA | 2028 | ||
Bank of America | 🇺🇸USA | 2020 | 2020 | |
Best Buy | 🇺🇸USA | 2050 | 2030 | |
Capital One Financial | 🇺🇸USA | 2018 | 2019 | |
Cisco Systems | 🇺🇸USA | 2022 | ||
Citigroup | 🇺🇸USA | 2020 | ||
Coca-Cola | 🇺🇸USA | 2030 | ||
CVS Health | 🇺🇸USA | 2028 | ||
Dell Technologies | 🇺🇸USA | 2040 | 2020 | |
Delta Air Lines | 🇺🇸USA | 2020 | ||
Dow | 🇺🇸USA | 2050 | ||
🇺🇸USA | 2020 | |||
Ford Motor | 🇺🇸USA | 2050 | ||
General Motors | 🇺🇸USA | 2050 | ||
Goldman Sachs Group | 🇺🇸USA | 2015 | 2020 | |
Hewlett Packard Enterprise | 🇺🇸USA | 2025 | ||
HP | 🇺🇸USA | 2035 | 2025 | |
Intel | 🇺🇸USA | 2030 | ||
Johnson & Johnson | 🇺🇸USA | 2050 | ||
JPMorgan Chase | 🇺🇸USA | 2020 | ||
Lowe's | 🇺🇸USA | 2025 | ||
MetLife | 🇺🇸USA | 2016 | ||
Microsoft | 🇺🇸USA | 2012 | 2017 | 2030 |
Mondelez International | 🇺🇸USA | 2025 | ||
Morgan Stanley | 🇺🇸USA | 2022 | 2022 | |
Nike | 🇺🇸USA | 2025 | 2030 | |
PepsiCo | 🇺🇸USA | 2030 | ||
Pfizer | 🇺🇸USA | 2020 | ||
Philip Morris International | 🇺🇸USA | 2050 | 2030 | |
Procter & Gamble | 🇺🇸USA | 2030 | 2030 | 2030 |
Schlumberger | 🇺🇸USA | C | ||
Starbucks | 🇺🇸USA | 2020 | ||
Target | 🇺🇸USA | 2030 | 2028 | |
Tyson Foods | 🇺🇸USA | 2030 | ||
Verizon Communications | 🇺🇸USA | 2035 | ||
Walmart | 🇺🇸USA | 2025 | 2027 | |
Wells Fargo | 🇺🇸USA | 2019 | 2020 |
Note: This data was aggregated from various sources throughout 2020, and as a result, may not include the latest climate commitments announced by companies within the Fortune Global 500.
As of October 2020, 163 companies from the Fortune Global 500 have publicly committed to achieving at least one of these climate targets. That represents 32.6% of the total group.
The most common target is carbon neutrality, which has 91 companies on board. In second place is science based targets (SBT), which has 74 companies committed—of those, 16 have not declared a target date. RE100 was the least common, with 56 companies committed. Because some companies are committed to multiple targets, these figures add to more than 163.
Climate Action is on the Rise
Private-sector awareness around climate change and other sustainability issues has gained strong momentum in recent years.
Since 2011, the number of S&P 500 companies publishing sustainability reports increased from 20% in 2011, to 90% in 2019. This was likely due to investor demand and a broader acceptance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.
Governments around the world are also taking a more proactive approach to climate action. The Biden administration, for example, seeks to make a $2 trillion investment to help a variety of U.S. industries become more sustainable.
“We have the opportunity to build a more resilient, sustainable economy – one that will put the United States on an irreversible path to achieve net-zero emissions…by no later than 2050.”
– Biden-Harris campaign
America’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 is shared with a handful of other advanced economies, including Japan and the EU. The UK has taken these pledges one step further, becoming the first G7 country to pass a law that requires itself to bring emissions to net zero by 2050.
Technology
Synthetic Biology: The $3.6 Trillion Science Changing Life as We Know It
The field of synthetic biology could solve problems in a wide range of industries, from medicine to agriculture—here’s how.

How Synthetic Biology Could Change Life as we Know it
Synthetic biology (synbio) is a field of science that redesigns organisms in an effort to enhance and support human life. According to one projection, this rapidly growing field of science is expected to reach $28.8 billion in global revenue by 2026.
Although it has the potential to transform many aspects of society, things could go horribly wrong if synbio is used for malicious or unethical reasons. This infographic explores the opportunities and potential risks that this budding field of science has to offer.
What is Synthetic Biology?
We’ve covered the basics of synbio in previous work, but as a refresher, here’s a quick explanation of what synbio is and how it works.
Synbio is an area of scientific research that involves editing and redesigning different biological components and systems in various organisms.
It’s like genetic engineering but done at a more granular level—while genetic engineering transfers ready-made genetic material between organisms, synbio can build new genetic material from scratch.
The Opportunities of Synbio
This field of science has a plethora of real-world applications that could transform our everyday lives. A study by McKinsey found over 400 potential uses for synbio, which were broken down into four main categories:
- Human health and performance
- Agriculture and food
- Consumer products and services
- Materials and energy production
If those potential uses become reality in the coming years, they could have a direct economic impact of up to $3.6 trillion per year by 2030-2040.
1. Human Health and Performance
The medical and health sector is predicted to be significantly influenced by synbio, with an economic impact of up to $1.3 trillion each year by 2030-2040.
Synbio has a wide range of medical applications. For instance, it can be used to manipulate biological pathways in yeast to produce an anti-malaria treatment.
It could also enhance gene therapy. Using synbio techniques, the British biotech company Touchlight Genetics is working on a way to build synthetic DNA without the use of bacteria, which would be a game-changer for the field of gene therapy.
2. Agriculture and Food
Synbio has the potential to make a big splash in the agricultural sector as well—up to $1.2 trillion per year by as early as 2030.
One example of this is synbio’s role in cellular agriculture, which is when meat is created from cells directly. The cost of creating lab-grown meat has decreased significantly in recent years, and because of this, various startups around the world are beginning to develop a variety of cell-based meat products.
3. Consumer Products and Services
Using synthetic biology, products could be tailored to suit an individual’s unique needs. This would be useful in fields such as genetic ancestry testing, gene therapy, and age-related skin procedures.
By 2030-2040, synthetic biology could have an economic impact on consumer products and services to the tune of up to $800 billion per year.
4. Materials and Energy Production
Synbio could also be used to boost efficiency in clean energy and biofuel production. For instance, microalgae are currently being “reprogrammed” to produce clean energy in an economically feasible way.
This, along with other material and energy improvements through synbio methods, could have a direct economic impact of up to $300 billion each year.
The Potential Risks of Synbio
While the potential economic and societal benefits of synthetic biology are vast, there are a number of risks to be aware of as well:
- Unintended biological consequences: Making tweaks to any biological system can have ripple effects across entire ecosystems or species. When any sort of lifeform is manipulated, things don’t always go according to plan.
- Moral issues: How far we’re comfortable going with synbio depends on our values. Certain synbio applications, such as embryo editing, are controversial. If these types of applications become mainstream, they could have massive societal implications, with the potential to increase polarization within communities.
- Unequal access: Innovation and progress in synbio is happening faster in wealthier countries than it is in developing ones. If this trend continues, access to these types of technology may not be equal worldwide. We’ve already witnessed this type of access gap during the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, where a majority of vaccines have been administered in rich countries.
- Bioweaponry: Synbio could be used to recreate viruses, or manipulate bacteria to make it more dangerous, if used with ill intent.
According to a group of scientists at the University of Edinburgh, communication between the public, synthetic biologists, and political decision-makers is crucial so that these societal and environmental risks can be mitigated.
Balancing Risk and Reward
Despite the risks involved, innovation in synbio is happening at a rapid pace.
By 2030, most people will have likely eaten, worn, or been treated by a product created by synthetic biology, according to synthetic biologist Christopher A. Voigt.
Our choices today will dictate the future of synbio, and how we navigate through this space will have a massive impact on our future—for better, or for worse.
Energy
How Far Are We From Phasing Out Coal?
In 2021 coal-fired electricity generation reached all-time highs, rising 9% from the year prior. Here’s what it’d take to phase it out of the energy mix.

How Far Are We From Phasing Out Coal?
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At the COP26 conference last year, 40 nations agreed to phase coal out of their energy mixes.
Despite this, in 2021, coal-fired electricity generation reached all-time highs globally, showing that eliminating coal from the energy mix will not be a simple task.
This infographic shows the aggressive phase-out of coal power that would be required in order to reach net zero goals by 2050, based on an analysis by Ember that uses data provided by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Low-Cost Comes at a High Environmental Cost
Coal-powered electricity generation rose by 9.0% in 2021 to 10,042 Terawatt-hours (TWh), marking the biggest percentage rise since 1985.
The main reason is cost. Coal is the world’s most affordable energy fuel. Unfortunately, low-cost energy comes at a high cost for the environment, with coal being the largest source of energy-related CO2 emissions.
China has the highest coal consumption, making up 54% of the world’s coal electricity generation. The country’s consumption jumped 12% between 2010 and 2020, despite coal making up a lower percentage of the country’s energy mix in relative terms.
Top Consumers | 2020 Consumption (Exajoules) | Share of global consumption |
---|---|---|
China 🇨🇳 | 82.3 | 54.3% |
India 🇮🇳 | 17.5 | 11.6% |
United States 🇺🇸 | 9.2 | 6.1% |
Japan 🇯🇵 | 4.6 | 3.0% |
South Africa 🇿🇦 | 3.5 | 2.3% |
Russia 🇷🇺 | 3.3 | 2.2% |
Indonesia 🇮🇩 | 3.3 | 2.2% |
South Korea 🇰🇷 | 3.0 | 2.0% |
Vietnam 🇻🇳 | 2.1 | 1.4% |
Germany 🇩🇪 | 1.8 | 1.2% |
Together, China and India account for 66% of global coal consumption and emit about 35% of the world’s greenhouse gasses (GHG). If you add the United States to the mix, this goes up to 72% of coal consumption and 49% of GHGs.
How Urgent is to Phase Out Coal?
According to the United Nations, emissions from current and planned fossil energy infrastructure are already more than twice the amount that would push the planet over 1.5°C of global heating, a level that scientists say could bring more intense heat, fire, storms, flooding, and drought than the present 1.2°C.
Apart from being the largest source of CO2 emissions, coal combustion is also a major threat to public health because of the fine particulate matter released into the air.
As just one example of this impact, a recent study from Harvard University estimates air pollution from fossil fuel combustion is responsible for 1 in 5 deaths globally.
The Move to Renewables
Coal-powered electricity generation must fall by 13% every year until 2030 to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goals of keeping global heating to only 1.5 degrees.
To reach the mark, countries would need to speed up the shift from their current carbon-intensive pathways to renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
How fast the transition away from coal will be achieved depends on a complicated balance between carbon emissions cuts and maintaining economic growth, the latter of which is still largely dependent on coal power.
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