Deloitte’s 2023 CxO Sustainability Report: Accelerating the Green Transition, part of a global survey of executives, takes a deep dive into Australian business leaders’ perspectives and actions on climate change and sustainability. Building upon Deloitte’s first CxO Sustainability Report in 2022, between September and October 2022 Deloitte surveyed more than 2,000 CxOs across 24 countries – including Australia. The report identifies key recommendations for organisations to help close the gap between ambition and action on climate, and to accelerate progress to a low-carbon economy.
Key insights from Australian executives:
Head of Deloitte Access Economics, Dr Pradeep Philip, said:
“Australian business executives are starting to see the shift from voluntary action to mandated change. The recent proposed change to the safeguard mechanism and emissions targets for big polluters show the regulatory environment is changing. This trend is likely to continue, marking the end of the age of voluntary action and the beginning of a new period of mandatory transition.
While executives are united on some of the key benefits of climate action such as brand recognition, employee engagement and positively impacting a shared world crisis, only 31% cited investor returns as a key benefit of accelerated climate action. Done right, rapid decarbonisation presents the single biggest growth opportunity for Australian business, and we expect to see this recognition shift as fast movers take the benefit of stakeholder demand for action.”
Recommendations to accelerate the green transition
Deloitte’s 2023 survey shows that CxOs do believe that both their organisations and the global economy can continue to grow while reaching climate goals and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. So, how can they help close the gap between ambition and action?
Our report offers several recommendations to help CxOs get started, including embedding climate goals into their overall business strategy and purpose, building trust by taking credible climate actions, empowering the board, encouraging stakeholder action, investing in today’s (and tomorrow’s) technologies, and collaborating to drive systems-level change.
Read the Australian perspective here: Download the report