Ten years ago, the words “net zero” barely appeared in corporate boardrooms. Today, nearly half the world’s market value is already aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). That’s 41% of global market capitalization and a quarter of global revenue, where companies that have put climate targets at the heart of business. By 2030, that share could double.
Since the end of 2023, the number of companies with validated near-term and net-zero targets has surged by 227%.
Climate action is growing. And guess what? Asia is leading the charge.
A decisive decade
Just two years ago, only 17% of companies working with SBTi had both near-term and long-term net-zero targets. By mid-2025, that figure had more than doubled to 38%.
A validated net-zero target means a company must cut emissions by at least 90% across its value chain, leaving only a small fraction to be neutralized with permanent removals.
The growth is not uniform though. Asia has seen the sharpest surge, with the number of validated companies more than doubling in less than two years. China alone jumped from 137 firms in 2023 to 450 today. Across sectors, industrials, consumer goods, and materials are leading the way, showing that both heavy emitters and everyday brands are committing to change.
Japan continues to lead in the total number of companies with validated targets, with 1,731 at the end of Q2 2025.
But statistics can feel abstract. To understand what this means in practice, it helps to look at a few companies that have stepped up boldly.
Six companies showing what net zero looks like
AstraZeneca (UK): Pharmaceuticals are energy-intensive, from manufacturing to global distribution. They’ve cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68% since 2015 and have committed to decarbonize operations and supply chains while still growing its lifesaving drug portfolio.
- LEGO (Denmark): Committed to cut emissions 37% by 2032 and already sources 50% of its materials sustainably.
- Colgate-Palmolive (USA): Toothpaste may seem small, but Colgate touches hundreds of millions of homes every day. Its net-zero targets cover everything from energy use in factories to the footprint of raw materials and packaging.
- Coca-Cola HBC (Europe): Reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 58% since 2010 and now uses 100% renewable electricity in EU and Swiss plants
- British Airways (UK): Invested $865 million in sustainable aviation fuel and cut operational emissions intensity by 20% since 2005.
- Walmart (USA): Through Project Gigaton, engaged over 2,300 suppliers to avoid 230 million metric tons of GHG emissions — equivalent to the annual emissions of France.
Each of these companies tells a different story. Together, they demonstrate that net zero is possible across diverse industries.
The road ahead
Yes yes, i hear you. There’s always more to be done. It’s easy to be critical of companies; it’s also the safer thing to do. But transforming decades of operations is hard, and sometimes costly. There is also an ongoing debate about how residual emissions should be treated, and whether carbon credits can play a role. It’s clear which side of the fence i am on that debate by virtue of my employment. But if you take a step back and think about it, companies that have a headstart generally also have more emissions, and carbon credits are the only way to truly reach net-zero.
For all the complexity of standards and metrics, the story of climate action is no longer one of philanthropy; that’s the biggest mindset shift on how companies think of climate change and its actions. Climate shifts reduce risk, creates new markets, and secures long-term growth.
A good testament to this shift is to follow Buffett’s ruthless pragmatism to chase profits, and how the markets moved him to green. Shrey’s story captures this well:
Warren Buffett and climate action — a reluctant participant
This story relies heavily on data from SBTi’s 2025 Trend Tracker.
Climate action is a funny paradox. The moment a company begins to decarbonize, the spotlight shifts to its past emissions. Instead of encouragement, it is met with criticism, often enough to stall momentum before it builds. But the path to net zero is not a single leap; it’s a sequence of steps. Small wins matter. Each one makes the next possible.
What we’re witnessing today is proof: progress is happening, even if it’s slow and imperfect. But the history of any progress or advancement has always been the same; gradual and contested, but ultimately unstoppable.