Deloitte 2024 CxO Sustainability Report - Signs of a shift in business climate action - September 2024

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Aurora

Deloitte 2024 CxO Sustainability Report presents survey findings from over 2,100 executives across 27 countries on sustainability and climate change priorities. It highlights a notable increase in sustainability investment and evidence that climate action is moving to the core of business strategy. The report notes climate change as a top CxO priority, strong expectations of high impact within three years, business model transformation, and limited perceived trade-offs between growth and emission reduction. It also emphasizes innovation-focused benefits over the next five years.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages26

Reading Time1 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Executive summary

Key survey takeaways

Investment and business strategy signals

Expected impacts and benefits

Deloitte 2024 CxO Sustainability Report Signs of a shift in business climate action September 2024 A letter from Jennifer Steinmann This is the third consecutive year Deloitte has surveyed global CxOs on their sustainability and climate change efforts, and we see early but critical indicators that executives are realizing the profound business opportunity in the transition to a lowemissions future. Reaching net-zero will transform nearly every aspect of the global economy, and the speed and scale of that transformation has accelerated in recent years (even though it remains less than what is needed to avert some of the worst impacts of climate change1) . Executives are realizing that transformation firsthand. Many companies see direct financial and business benefits from their climate actions. Most see company growth and climate action going hand-in-hand. Many say they are putting sustainability at the heart of their business strategy, and their sustainability investments are increasing. We may be entering a new phase in corporate climate action, one where sustainability strategy goes beyond a focus on compliance, risk management, and stakeholder responsiveness. Instead, sustainability is increasingly serving asan engine for new value creation, a competitive differentiator, and a driver of innovation and transformation. We see this most clearly among the companies embracing a set of “needlemoving actions” to help drive impact inside and outside their organizations—evidence that a proactive, holistic approach to sustainability can lead to business value. But today’s leading companies alone can’t create the sustainable future we need. To reach critical mass and accelerate the pace of the transition, the many companies in the “moderate middle”—those taking just a few high-impact actions—will need to extend the breadth and depth of their efforts. The good news is that these organizations are primed for action. Deloitte’s 2024 survey shows that they see the current and potential future impacts of climate change on their businesses and have already begun the sustainability journey in important ways. This middle group represents a sleeping giant; if it awakens, going from moderate to mobilized, it could create a true tipping point in corporate climate action and catalyze rapid advances. Each organization’s sustainability journey is unique…and sometimes less than straightforward. However, we see that the dedication of business leaders to this effort is stronger than ever. The transition from awareness to action underscores a deeper understanding of the lasting benefits of investment in sustainability, not only for the environment but also for long-term business resilience and growth. 1 UNEP, Emissions Gap Report 2023, November 2023. 1 UNFCCC Secretariat, Technical dialogue of the first global stocktake. Synthesis report by the co-facilitators on the technical dialogue, United Nations Climate Change , September 2023 © 2024. For information, contact Deloitte Global. Jennifer Steinmann Deloitte Global Sustainability Business Leader Deloitte 2024 CxO Sustainability Report | 2 Table of Contents 1. Executive summary 4 – 5 2. Strategic priorities and challenges 6 – 12 3. Outlook and actions 13 – 17 4. The “moderate middle” 18 – 21 5. Recommendations: From moderate to mobilized 22 – 23 6. Methodology 24 7. Contacts 25 © 2024. For information, contact Deloitte Global. Deloitte 2024 CxO Sustainability Report | 3 Executive summary (1 of 2) Deloitte's 2024 CxO Sustainability Report, surveying over 2,100 executives across 27 countries on their views and strategies related to sustainability and climate change, marks a potential sea change in what benefits and opportunities companies see from their actions and underscores the staying power of sustainability on the business agenda. Contrary to some headlines, our survey indicates there is no retreat from sustainability action by businesses. Instead,

FAQs

What did Deloitte’s survey focus on in the 2024 CxO Sustainability Report?

It surveyed over 2,100 executives across 27 countries on their views and strategies related to sustainability and climate change.

Does the report suggest companies are retreating from sustainability efforts?

No. It indicates no retreat from sustainability action and reports a notable increase in sustainability investment.

What change in business strategy does the report emphasize?

It emphasizes that climate action is increasingly at the heart of companies’ overall business strategies, including transforming business models to address climate change and sustainability.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Aurora