Aim

Our world needs a major decarbonisation and energy transformation to prevent the climate crisis we’re facing and meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F). 

The private sector plays a critical role in driving decarbonisation and must take action now to meet the Paris Agreement goal. The Climate and Energy Benchmark is an accountability mechanism that measures corporate progress against the Paris Agreement and whether companies are contributing to a just transition.

Our Climate and Energy Benchmark covers rankings of 450 of the world’s most influential, keystone companies in high-emitting sectors like automotive, electric utilities, oil and gas, transport, buildings and construction. These sector benchmarks will be regularly updated. 

View our benchmarks

Electric Utilities Benchmark

This benchmark presents the key findings and detailed company scorecards from the assessment of 68 keystone electric utilities companies.

See 2023 Electric Utilities Benchmark

Oil and Gas Benchmark

This benchmark presents the key findings and detailed company scorecards from the assessment of 100 keystone oil and gas companies.

See 2023 Oil and Gas Benchmark

Buildings Benchmark

This benchmark presents the key findings and detailed company scorecards from the assessment of 50 keystone buildings companies.

See 2023 Buildings Benchmark

Transport Benchmark

This benchmark presents the key findings and detailed company scorecards from the assessment of 90 keystone transport companies.

See 2022 Transport Benchmark

Automotive Benchmark

This benchmark presents the key findings and detailed company scorecards from the assessment of 30 keystone automotive manufacturers.

See 2021 Automotive Benchmark

Just transition

Sustainable development requires striking the right balance between economic, environmental and social components. The decarbonisation of our global economy will only succeed if climate justice includes solutions for workers and communities – the social component – in what is known as a ‘just transition’.

As part of our work on decarbonisation and energy transformation, the 450 keystone companies will also be ranked on their progress towards a just transition. These 450 companies employ around 24 million people worldwide and hold immense influence to drive a just transition. The companies will be assessed for their alignment with the Paris Agreement goal alongside their approach to addressing the social challenges of a low-carbon transition. The assessments will be based on the ACT methodology as well as WBA’s just transition and core social indicators.

Learn more

2021 Just Transition Assessment

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Scope

The Climate and Energy Benchmark tracks keystone companies in the highest emitting sectors, identified through extensive consultation and research. It includes industry groups from TCFD recommendations, and covers listed, private and state-owned companies in these sectors, headquartered across 64 countries.  

Methodology

The Climate and Energy Benchmark measures the readiness of companies to transition to a low-carbon economy, using the future-oriented ACT methodologies. ACT (‘Assessing Low-Carbon Transition’) methodologies use the most ambitious scenarios available from the International Energy Agency (IEA) to calculate company pathways and assess companies against the 1.5°C Paris goal. ACT seeks the views and opinions of a wide range of stakeholders including companies, NGOs, academics and other interested parties through public consultation. All ACT resources and our methodologies for launched benchmarks can be found here. 

WBA has also developed core social indicators and just transition indicators. We will assess the companies in the Climate and Energy Benchmark with these in 2021 to create our Just Transition Assessments. From 2022, each sector benchmark in the Climate and Energy series will comprise an integrated assessment using ACT, as well as the core social and just transition indicators. 

Milestones

  1. Oil and Gas Benchmark

    July 2021 

  2. Just Transition Assessments in Oil and Gas, Automotive and Electric Utilities

    November 2021

  3. Automotive Benchmark

    November 2021

  4. Electric Utilities Benchmark

    November 2021

  5. Transport Benchmark

    October 2022

  6. Buildings Benchmark

    March 2023

  7. Oil and Gas Benchmark (2nd iteration)

    June 2023

  8. Electric Utilities Benchmark (2nd iteration)

    November 2023

  9. Heavy Industries Benchmark

    Q1 2024

  10. Automotive Benchmark (2nd iteration)

    Q4 2024

  11. Transport Benchmark (2nd iteration)

    Q4 2024

Partnership with CDP

WBA is developing the Climate and Energy Benchmark istrategic partnership with CDP. The Climate and Energy Benchmark aims to accelerate the global decarbonisation and energy transformation. It measures and ranks keystone companies across high-emitting sectors boperationalising the Assessing Low-Carbon Transition (‘ACT’) methodologies, together with WBA’s just transition and core social indicators. These influential, keystone companies are assessed on their past performance, current strategies and forward-looking targets and alignment with the Paris Agreement.  

Publications

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Get involved

To build our work, we continue to engage with key organisations and stakeholders all across the globe through targeted communications with their representatives. We also encourage relevant and constructive feedback from diverse groups and world regions to help make our work more meaningful for all. 

Vicky Sins

Decarbonisation and Energy Transformation Lead

WBA's benchmarks allow us to see beyond glossy corporate press releases with statements of ambition, and give us the 'real story'. Sometimes this is dim viewing, but more often we see trends of transformation occurring, catalysed by investment, policy and technological breakthroughs by companies, which if replicated by the rest of the sector provides real cause for hope.

Emily Hickson Head of Advocacy, The B Team

The Expert Review Committee

Our various Climate and Energy Benchmarks are developed in close collaboration with an Expert Review Committee (ERC), whose members support the core team with their expertise and experience.

Events and updates

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