Chasing Net Zero: ambitious targets, meaningful achievement and intractable challenges
Our Chasing Net Zero series, a company-by-company look at the state of corporate decarbonization efforts in 2025, provides a set of parables about good intentions and meaningful action bumping up against intractable market forces and regulatory inaction.
Written by Jim Giles, Heather Clancy and Saul Hansell, the case studies began running in July. Our reporting, also featured in a session at Trellis Impact 25 entitled “The State of 2030 Climate Targets: Lessons Learned from the Chasing Net Zero Series,” has fueled ongoing conversations in the sustainability community, including a debate over the value of reducing emissions intensity rather than absolute emissions — so we wrote about that too.
Many of the companies we’ve profiled — including Nestlé, Salesforce and Intel — have made significant achievements in lowering their carbon footprints. Yet few of them are on track to reach the goals set in a more optimistic and favorable time.
As Trellis contributor Alison Taylor, a clinical associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business, wrote in July, a focus on numbers alone can obscure real achievement and useful lessons: “The ultimate paradox in responsible business is that best and worst practices are often found side-by-side in the same industry. Sometimes even in the same factory.”
In the coming months we will publish more case studies, with a new focus for 2026 on management guidance from experts advising on what each one can do next. Subscribe to Trellis Briefing to follow the series and join in the conversation.
Here’s what we’ve found to date:
Nestlé is on track to halve emissions by 2030. Here’s how (holes and all)
The Swiss food giant has reduced emissions by 20 percent since 2018, hitting its interim target a year ahead of schedule. But the company’s roadmap relies heavily on carbon removals, a strategy that environmental groups have questioned.
Why IKEA’s $47 billion retailer is on pace to halve emissions by 2030, while rivals falter
Ingka Group, the largest seller of IKEA products, is investing in startups and technologies crucial for achieving its net-zero goal. The biggest challenge: How quickly can IKEA transition to lower-carbon materials?
GSK made the biggest climate promise in pharma. Can it keep it?
GSK promised to slash emissions by 80 percent by 2030 from 2020 levels, a far deeper cut than any of its rivals. The company’s path forward lies partly in a low-emissions replacement for its asthma inhaler, which accounts for half of its overall emissions.
Inside steel giant ArcelorMittal’s struggle to reach its 2030 climate goals
The largest steelmaker in the Global North set an ambitious decarbonization agenda in 2021. But oversupply and high energy prices are holding back low-carbon investment across the steel industry.
How AI forced Salesforce to reset its 2030 climate goals
Facing a surge in AI-related emissions, the $38 billion enterprise software company pivoted on its emissions plan to set a target it looks likely to reach as early as next year. The new target is based on cutting emissions per unit of profit, rather than absolute emissions.
How Intel’s sales tailspin sidelined its 2030 sustainability ambitions
The company that led the microprocessor revolution was long a leader on sustainability. Now, after a critical technology mistake led to a decade of business turmoil, it’s quietly scaling back its climate efforts.
The post Chasing Net Zero: ambitious targets, meaningful achievement and intractable challenges appeared first on Trellis.