The State of Corporate Action: Closing the Gaps Between Commitment and Impact

New findings from the World Benchmarking Alliance reveal how the world’s most influential companies are progressing and where they continue to fall short - on climate, nature, human rights, and ethical AI.

1. Climate: Too Few Moving Fast Enough

Only a small share of companies are cutting emissions at the speed and scale required to stay aligned with the 1.5°C pathway. While progress is visible in parts of the economy, it remains far too uneven.

At the same time, a growing number of firms are investing more capital in low-carbon solutions. If companies scaled these proven investments to levels already observed across leading peers, up to 30% of the annual clean-energy investment gap required by 2030 could be bridged — bringing the world closer to a 1.5°C trajectory.

Given that these companies account for a significant share of global energy-related emissions and deploy trillions in annual capital expenditure, their investment choices will shape the pace and direction of the transition. The opportunity is clear: redirect existing capital toward low-carbon solutions that already work through credible transition planning and transparent disclosure.

2. Nature: Measuring What Matters

The findings highlight a systemic blind spot in how businesses assess their dependence on nature. 86% of the 750 companies with the greatest environmental impacts neither measure nor disclose their reliance on ecosystem services - the natural systems essential to their operations.

While two-thirds identify nature-related risks and 42% take some mitigation action, only 9% quantify how these risks could affect their business. Yet there are early signs of change: 18 companies have begun publishing nature transition plans, signalling a growing recognition of planetary boundaries.

To accelerate progress, companies can scale governance, targets, and stakeholder engagement into robust nature transition plans that complement climate strategies.

3. Human Rights and Living Wages: The Missing Foundation

The companies assessed employ over 107 million workers worldwide, yet less than 5% report paying a living wage. This leaves millions of households struggling with rising costs of living.

Among 300 firms shaping essential services such as housing, utilities, and transport, 76% score zero across all affordability indicators - a troubling gap in social accountability.

Living wages are a cornerstone of dignified work and economic security. By embedding affordability within business strategy — and strengthening accountability across supply chains - companies, policymakers, and investors can work together to close the living-wage gap and ensure that economic value creation lifts all workers.

4. Supply Chains: The Traceability Imperative

The world’s 2,000 most influential companies shape more than 450 million jobs across global value chains and source from over 110 countries. In sectors like food and agriculture, upstream activities drive roughly 70% of total emissions.

Despite this scale, only one in ten companies identify and assess human rights risks in their supply chains and a mere 14% in high-risk sectors such as food, agriculture, and apparel.

Encouragingly, some firms are improving traceability and sharing supplier data to enhance transparency and accountability. These steps show what’s possible and highlight a clear opportunity to embed traceability and transparency as central pillars of responsible supply chains.

5. Ethical AI: Accountability Gaps Widen

As artificial intelligence reshapes industries from healthcare to finance, ethical governance is struggling to keep pace. Among 200 keystone companies, only 77 publish AI principles, 24 disclose governance mechanisms, and none report human rights impact assessment results - a stark indicator of weak accountability.

However, momentum is building: more firms now recognise AI as a material risk, marking an important shift in awareness. The next frontier is robust disclosure, independent oversight, and cross-sector collaboration to ensure that AI innovation advances human rights and public trust, not just efficiency.

The data paints a sobering but actionable picture. Progress is possible and already visible

when commitments translate into investment, planning, and transparent disclosure. By scaling proven approaches, companies can move from isolated excellence to systemic transformation, aligning corporate action with the world’s social and environmental imperatives.

For more information visit: https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/benchmarks/2026-benchmark-hub?mtm_campaign=2026-2000companies&mtm_source=mailing&mtm_group=stakeholders