Nine in 10 UK businesses want greater government support to help the county meet net zero targets, research from the BSI (British Standards Institution) has found.
The UK’s national standards body has published its fourth annual Net Zero Barometer, for which it surveyed more than 1,000 senior decision makers from UK businesses of all sizes and across sectors. It found that the majority (83%) are committed to achieving the UK’s legally binding net zero emissions target. Despite this, 92% say barriers remain in place and a fifth of organisations remain hesitant and are unable to commit to achieving net zero.
Overall, 23% are not confident of achieving net zero by 2050 and 28% say their organisation will be taking no action in the next 12 months on this.
Similarly, 38% are not confident net zero can be achieved without significant cost to their business. In fact, nearly half (47%) said cost was a barrier to decarbonization and for two-fifths it was the main barrier.
The barometer suggests that firms are increasingly cognisant of the financial value of accelerating progress towards net zero. For one in two (48%) reducing costs was the key incentive. Nearly one in four saw a key benefit as increasing business preparedness for new government policies after the next election.
Scott Steedman, Director-General, Standards at BSI said: “From government, now is the moment for a clear policy environment that encourages organizations to invest and innovate towards net zero. We have made great progress in the last 12 months in aligning international standards with the net zero transition and disclosure requirements and we now have the opportunity to press ahead to scale up the implementation of best practices for decarbonization across all sectors. First movers have the potential to benefit most through enhancing their own performance, building the confidence of their stakeholders and helping to accelerate our common progress towards a sustainable world.”
Further findings from this year’s report include:
· Over half (53%) of large firms cite regulatory changes to be the strongest driver to taking action to achieve net zero compared to 36% of SMEs and 32% of large firms listed liability and legal risks compared to 21% of SMEs.
· Climate related risks (23%), regulatory changes (20%), reputational risks (10%), and pressure from clients/customers (15%) were also cited as prevalent drivers to take net zero action.
· 84% say taking steps to reach net zero is pushing up the cost of doing business and 74% say it is adding pressure to their industry.
· Confidence was lower amongst SMEs than large firms, with large firms (54%) more likely to have a 2050 target in place than SMEs (35%).
· 38% say they are not confident net zero can be achieved without significant cost to their business. To read the full version of the BSI Net Zero Barometer Report 2024 click here.
First movers have the potential to benefit most through enhancing their own performance, building the confidence of their stakeholders and helping to accelerate our common progress towards a sustainable world.”
Scott Steedman, Director-General, Standards, BSI
