Let’s be honest: the siren song of easing climate commitments is seducing the corporate class and stinks.
If 2025 was indeed the year that companies quietly began to retreat from net zero, watering down their commitments or scrapping them altogether, then 2026 must be the year that British companies rediscover their backbone and purpose. After all, the alternative isn’t just inconvenient; it is recklessly self-destructive.
The Guardian’s latest investigation suggests that commitments once announced from the rooftops of press releases are being softened or shelved by everyone from retailers to banks, car manufacturers to city councils. The rhetoric of carbon-neutral economies now all too often reads like a relic of corporate virtue rather than a serious business strategy.
But here’s the point that no executive memo seems to make with sufficient clarity: net zero is not a fad. It is the defining economic shift of our time, as seismic as electrification or the Internet. Think of it as a mere exercise in box-ticking, and you’ll wake up to a world where markets and reputation have passed you by.
Let’s dismantle the scaremongering for a moment. There is a narrative circulating among financially cautious people that climate protection is more of a cost factor than an investment. Achieving net zero targets reduces short-term gains. That shareholders want dividends, not decarbonization. And then there’s the grumbling about regulation: “Not now, not yet, can’t you see we have bills to pay?”
Mumps. Yes, decarbonization has real costs in the short term. However, these are far exceeded by the long-term economic opportunities. Research from credible organizations such as the British Chambers of Commerce and McKinsey shows that the net zero transition by 2030 could be worth over £1 trillion to the UK economy through innovation, exports and first-mover advantages. This is not greenwashing, this is mathematics.
If the British economy becomes a laggard rather than a leader, it will not only give up moral superiority but also market share. Today, markets are global and buyers are increasingly demanding sustainability from their suppliers. Investors do the same. Lenders, insurers and large pension funds are incorporating climate risk into pricing and capital allocation in ways that will only increase. Those who shy away now risk becoming uninvestable in the near future.
Some might counter that regulatory uncertainties, particularly political changes or post-Brexit policy fluctuations, make sustainable net zero commitments precarious. And yes, the political landscape was turbulent. But that’s exactly why corporate governance is important. When politicians waver when policy is debated, corporate resolve can serve as a stable anchor for long-term strategy. Step back and someone else will fill the vacuum – and they won’t be challengers with sustainability at their core.
Let’s look at the sectors where the regression in 2025 was most glaring. In the financial sector, for example, there were cracks in climate alliance frameworks that diverged from net-zero banking coalitions. Banks like HSBC delayed parts of their climate targets and were met with sharp criticism.
The logical step here, that commitments can be postponed when the going gets tough, is exactly where the skeptics win. But imagine the message it sends when British banks, the institutions that guarantee business growth, say they will only play the game if profits are guaranteed. It immediately undermines confidence in the entire system of integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) into corporate strategy.
Retail has also delayed its ambitions. The reasons given are the complexity of the supply chain and cost pressure. But postponing goals for a decade or more does not solve these problems; it merely postpones the problem into the future.
And we shouldn’t pretend that the automotive and aviation sectors, areas where clear net-zero paths have stalled in places, are immune. Business trips recently highlighted that even political support has become ambivalent.
So where do we go from here? First: reaffirm, not revise, net zero commitments. Ambitions must be translated into actionable, transparent, science-based transition plans – not adjustable goals that bend to the winds of short-term constraints.
Second: collaboration instead of withdrawal. Companies large and small should look to frameworks like the Science Based Targets initiative, which provides rigorous, science-based pathways to emissions reductions. These aren’t gimmicks; These are industry-independent roadmaps for resilience.
Third: Be innovative, don’t give up. Let’s focus more on electrification, circular economy models and emission-free supply chains. And let’s take SMEs along on the journey. Data from the latest UK Net Zero Business Census shows that the majority of larger companies still view net zero as strategic – a sign of encouragement if action is taken.
Finally, let us point out the folly of short-termism. I am neither a romantic nor a climate activist by profession. But business is nothing without its reputation capital. The choice is simple: be remembered as the generation that met the challenges of our time with determination and ingenuity, or as the generation that blinked.
The UK economy must not water down its net zero targets in 2026. Not because it is easy, but because it is the only credible path to sustainable growth, investor confidence and competitive advantage in a rapidly changing global economy.
