Accenture: Only 16% of Largest Firms on Track for Net Zero

Industrial and freight companies worldwide are turning to technology and sustainable practices to meet net-zero carbon emissions targets. 

Accenture’s 2024 report, titled "Destination Net Zero", examines the world’s 2,000 largest industrial firms and their progress toward sustainability goals. 

While 35% of these companies have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, Accenture’s analysis indicates that only 16% are on track to hit this target.

Even more concerning, nearly half (49%) of these companies are still increasing emissions, underscoring the difficulty of integrating sustainability into established industrial processes.

The role of AI in decarbonisation

AI is seen as a promising tool to reach the goal of carbon neutrality, although its potential remains largely unused in the industrial sector.

Only 17% of freight and industrial firms currently use AI to reduce emissions, according to Accenture's report. 

Accenture’s analysis projects that AI-related emissions will rise from 68 million to 718 million tonnes of CO2 by 2030 due to the energy demands of AI-centric data centres unless advances in energy efficiency and computing are achieved.

The report finds that 42% of business leaders expect AI to cut emissions in the short term, while a significant 65% anticipate AI’s role in emission reduction over the next decade.

However, Accenture remains optimistic that AI will eventually reduce global emissions. 

The report highlights that many companies have reduced emissions, but Stephanie Jamison, Accenture’s Global Sustainability Services Lead, states: “To get to net zero by 2050 all of us need to move faster, together, to reinvent sustainable value chains using deep collaboration and transformative technologies 

“AI can help but can only go so far when only 22% of AI-employing companies are currently using it for decarbonisation. The most realistic scenario is probably one in which AI initially emits more than it abates, until a critical crossover point.” 

The "crossover point" is when AI technologies start to provide net emissions reductions but only after emitting carbon in their development.

Key Levers for Reducing Carbon Emissions

The Destination Net Zero report outlines five main strategies that industrial and freight companies can implement to drive down emissions across their operations and value chains. 

These five “levers” include:

• Energy efficiency 
• Waste reduction 
• Renewables adoption 
• Circularity principles 
• The decarbonisation of buildings. 

According to Accenture, 80% of the world’s largest firms have adopted at least one of these levers, while nearly a third of companies use 15 or more decarbonisation methods.

For the industrial and freight sector specifically, the uptake of these levers is impressive:

- 85% in energy efficiency targets 

- 84% in waste reduction

- 84% in circular principles

- 82% in renewable energy adoption

- 77% in building decarbonisation

- 29% adoption of 15+ levers.

This movement towards sustainable practices is encouraging as companies look to embed emissions reductions into their business models, showing a shift from short-term targets to enduring operational change. 

Europe’s leadership in AI and decarbonisation

European companies are leading the way in setting ambitious emissions targets and adopting AI for sustainability efforts, with 64% of European firms in the industrial and freight sector having net-zero commitments.

Europe is also leading in AI adoption for decarbonisation, with 20% of companies in the region utilising AI for emissions reduction, compared to the 14% in Asia-Pacific and 10% in North America.

Mauro Macchi, Accenture’s CEO in the EMEA region, says: “It’s encouraging to see businesses across the region taking a lead both in setting ambitious net-zero targets and using new technologies such as AI to reduce carbon emissions. This will help boost growth and resilience as regulations such as the CSRD come into force.”

Stephanie says: “A majority of the world's largest companies are now cutting their emissions even as the size of their operations and revenues grow. While this is a significant milestone, the next step must be faster and more collaborative efforts.”

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