Key findings
- 27% of organisations are Integrators: committed and built.
- 28% are Declarers: a target and not much else.
- 11% are Under claimers: doing the work without a formal target.
- 33% are Absentees: no target, no structures, no spend.
- Integrators and Declarers have public targets at similar rates (58% and 53%), but 76% of Integrators fund climate above 5% of CapEx against 21% of Declarers.
How were the segments built?
We scored all 500 organisations on what they say, meaning whether they hold a formal target, against six measures of delivery: CapEx, governance, Scope 3 measurement, supplier requirements, adaptation and target formality.
What are the four types?
Integrators (27%) are committed and built. Three-quarters fund climate above 5% of CapEx. 82% are confident of delivery. Two-thirds are large employers.
Declarers (28%) have a target and little behind it. 40% have no climate governance structure at all and only 21% fund it. This is the commitment gap in its purest form.
Under claimers (11%) have real capability and no formal target. 72% fund climate work. None have announced anything.
Absentees (33%) have no target, no structures and no spend. Over half have no governance. They are the largest single group.
The largest group has done nothing. The second largest has only announced
Share of organisations in each position
- Integrators: committed and built 27%
- Declarers: a target and not much else 28%
- Under claimers: real capability, no formal target 11%
- Absentees: no target, no structures, no spend 33%
View data
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| Integrators: committed and built | 27% |
| Declarers: a target and not much else | 28% |
| Under claimers: real capability, no formal target | 11% |
| Absentees: no target, no structures, no spend | 33% |
What they say against what they have built
View data
| Has a formal target | No formal target | |
|---|---|---|
| Has built delivery | Integrators 27% | Under claimers 11% |
| Has not built delivery | Declarers 28% | Absentees 33% |
How do you tell an Integrator from a Declarer?
Not from the announcement. 58% of Integrators have a public net zero target. So do 53% of Declarers.
The difference is underneath. Three-quarters of Integrators (76%) fund climate above 5% of CapEx, against 21% of Declarers. Nearly a third of Integrators (31%) measure Scope 3 comprehensively, against 7%. And 40% of Declarers have no climate governance at all, compared with 2% of Integrators.
From the outside, these two look the same
Integrators and Declarers compared
- Integrators
- Declarers
View data
| Measure | Integrators | Declarers | Gap (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a public net zero target | 58% | 53% | 5 |
| Funds climate above 5% of CapEx | 76% | 21% | 55 |
| Measures Scope 3 comprehensively | 31% | 7% | 24 |
| Has no climate governance at all | 2% | 40% | 38 |
What this means
A public target is the weakest signal available. It is the one thing Integrators and Declarers share.
If you are choosing a supplier, a partner or an investment on climate grounds, skip the announcement and ask about CapEx, governance and Scope 3. If you run sustainability comms, be clear which group you are in before the next statement goes out. A Declarer's announcement invites exactly the scrutiny it cannot meet.
And if you are an Under claimer, you are doing more than a quarter of the market that talks about it. Staying quiet may be a choice, but it should be a deliberate one.
Frequently asked questions
How can you tell if a company is serious about net zero?
Look at funding, governance and Scope 3 measurement, not the target. In The Reality Department's research, companies that deliver and companies that only declare have public targets at almost the same rate (58% and 53%).
How many companies have a net zero target but aren't funding it?
28% of organisations are Declarers: they hold a target, but only 21% of them direct more than 5% of CapEx to climate-aligned investment.
How many companies have no climate target at all?
33% of organisations are Absentees, with no target, no structures and no spend.
Methodology
The Reality Department surveyed 500 sustainability decision-makers: 250 in the United States and 250 in the United Kingdom. Fieldwork: August 2026. Segments were built by scoring each organisation on stated commitment against six delivery measures.
Related: How many companies are funding their net zero targets?
Want a segmentation of your own market? Work with us.