Harvard launches tool tracking corporate climate targets in U.S. public markets

The new database and interactive tool show what companies have promised, when they made those climate commitments, and how those pledges have changed over time

Key takeaways:

• Harvard’s new Corporate Climate Targets Database tracks voluntary climate commitments and greenhouse gas emissions across nearly 3,000 publicly traded U.S. companies.
• The free, interactive database covers companies in the Russell 3000 Index – which represents about 98 percent of the U.S. public equity market – and documents targets issued from 2000 through 2024.
• Users can compare companies and sectors, examine how climate targets and emissions have changed over time, and download the underlying data.
• Early analysis shows that more than 80 percent of firms with emission reduction targets have changed them at least once before their final target year.
• The growth in voluntary targets plateaued over 2022-2023. In 2024, 80 fewer companies had such targets than in 2023.
• Fewer than half of the electric utilities in the database cut emissions at their power plants enough to meet their targets by the applicable deadline.
  
  

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Salata Institute at Harvard today launched the Corporate Climate Targets Database, a free interactive tool enabling anyone to track corporate climate targets and emissions – and chart how they have changed over more than 20 years. It fills critical gaps in available data.

The database covers companies listed in the Russell 3000 Index, representing about 98 percent of U.S. public equities by market capitalization. It documents corporate climate targets from the year 2000 through 2024, drawing from companies’ public disclosures, including sustainability reports, annual reports, 10-K filings, and press releases. Targets are mapped against emissions trends from S&P Global Trucost Environmental data.

Companies have issued thousands of voluntary climate commitments – public pledges to reduce their contributions to climate change beyond what the law requires – often in an inconsistent manner that has made tracking and comparisons difficult. Existing resources have relied heavily on surveys or narrower samples. The Corporate Climate Targets Database builds a broader, independent record.

“Corporate climate targets are now a major part of climate policy, but the public has had few tools to evaluate them,” said co-lead Joseph Aldy, Teresa and John Heinz Professor of the Practice of Environmental Policy, Harvard Kennedy School. “This project shows who has made commitments and what they cover, and it gives researchers a way to investigate whether voluntary action is associated with real emissions reductions.”

Users can explore target and emissions trends over time, compare companies and sectors, and download the underlying data for free.

“Most corporate climate coverage focuses on a handful of high-profile firms,” said co-lead Michael Toffel, Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management at Harvard Business School. “This tool enables everyone to see what is happening across nearly 3,000 companies, including firms that rarely make headlines, and to get a fuller picture of targets and trends.”

Corporate climate disclosure is becoming more contested and, in some cases, less transparent. Some companies have walked back earlier climate commitments, while others continue to pursue targets that extend to 2030, 2040, or 2050. The database lets users see when companies add, change, or drop targets.

For example, in the database, 83 percent of firms that have announced at least one emission reduction target have made revisions before the target year. About 15 percent of revisions increased ambition in terms of the level of the target (a target with a lower emissions level or emissions intensity), while about 42 percent set less ambitious targets and 44 percent maintained the target ambition. In recent years, some companies have dropped their targets altogether: the total number of companies in the database with climate targets fell from 1,135 in 2023 to 1,056 in 2024. In the electric utility sector, 24 companies set emission reduction targets with deadlines before the year 2025, and about 45 percent met these targets.

The project team plans to update the database annually and, in the coming months, publish analyses of which companies adopt climate targets, how targets vary by sector and policy environment, and whether voluntary commitments are associated with measurable emissions reductions.

The database, interactive tool, and an FAQ with detailed information on the research methodology are accessible here: https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/cctp/

About the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability
The Salata Institute at Harvard University develops and advances durable, effective, and equitable solutions to the climate change challenges confronting humanity.

For questions, contact:
salata_netzeroproject@harvard.edu

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/19fd4384-4ab1-43b3-932b-ff3a42a6bc3d

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