Key Findings

  • According to a survey by Risilience, despite rollbacks in environmental protection efforts, including those addressing climate change, in the United States and other countries, 36% of large U.S. and European companies still align capital expenditure with sustainability goals.
  • Risilience noted that many companies have integrated sustainability into their corporate strategies by advancing decarbonization plans. The consulting firm, based in Cambridge, UK, and focused on carbon reduction strategies, stated that95% of companieshave placed environmental risk discussions on the permanent agenda of their boards.
  • "When more than a third of corporate capital expenditure is aligned with sustainability goals, it shows that companies are no longer experimenting with net zero—they are embedding it into strategy, governance, and financial systems," said Andrew Coburn, CEO of Risilience. "Leaders are moving from ambition to quantified, finance-grade execution," he said in a statement.

In-Depth Analysis

Since taking office for a second White House term in January, President Donald Trump has reversed several federal sustainability initiatives, including plans aimed at limiting greenhouse gas emissions.

In May, the Interior Department announced plans to expand the availability of federal lands for oil and gas leasing. The Bureau of Land Management plans to streamline the permitting process, reducing review times to no more than six months.

In July, Trump signed executive orders ending mandates for clean electricity production and tax credits for wind and solar facilities.

Also in July, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed revoking what the agency calls its "endangerment finding" and repealing greenhouse gas emission regulations for motor vehicles and engines.

In the 2009 finding, the EPA stated that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health. That decision was a cornerstone of the Biden administration's efforts to promote electric vehicles.

"The carbon footprint is a hoax invented by malicious people who are on a path to total destruction," Trump said in a speech at the United Nations on Tuesday. "It is the greatest hoax ever imposed on the world."

"I tell you, if you don't get rid of the green energy hoax, your countries will fail," Trump told world leaders.

Nevertheless, 52% of large companies have already developed plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, and another 30% are currently developing such roadmaps.

Risilience stated that even amid "geopolitical and economic volatility," nearly nine in ten (88%) companies have increased spending on net-zero strategies.

Additionally, three-quarters of decarbonization plans include return-on-investment calculations, indicating that companies are quantifying the value of such projects, although "challenges remain in standardizing metrics," Risilience said.

"Climate and nature risks are no longer abstract sustainability issues; they are real financial risks," Coburn said. "Companies that act decisively, quantify these risks, embed them into governance and financial systems, and align incentives across their supply chains will build resilience and competitive advantage."

Risilience surveyed more than 500 decision-makers responsible for finance or sustainability at companies with annual revenues exceeding $700 million.