Despite continued investment in initiatives to address climate change and maintain public commitments to reduce emissions, climate is not the top priority for ESG investments for businesses in Greece. This is according to the second edition of the survey, EY Sustainable Value Study Greece 2024.

Conducted by Oxford Economics on behalf of EY Greece 2024, the survey captured the views of 75 executives from large companies in Greece with sustainability responsibilities, including presidents and CEOs from listed and unlisted companies operating in different sectors of the economy.

AMBITIOUS TARGETS

With the climate crisis intensifying, the vast majority of respondents said that the vast majority of their companies have committed to reducing carbon emissions by a certain amount (88%) or achieving carbon-neutral emissions (84%). At the same time, 72% reported that their organizations have committed to negative emissions and 49% to net zero emissions.

The vast majority of respondents reported that their organization has not changed the emissions reduction target it has committed to achieving (90%) or the year in which it achieved its climate change targets (84%). Spending on climate change is expected to remain about the same or increase significantly or relatively more than last year (total responses 91%).

At the same time, executives remain optimistic about meeting climate targets: 56% believe global emissions will be reduced by at least 45% by 2030 (base year 2010), while nearly 2 in 3 believe their organization is ambitious enough to have a meaningful impact on climate change (65%) and that it will achieve its public commitment to climate change within the specified timeframe (64%). Businesses also recognize Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a critical enabler to optimize supply chains and reduce carbon emissions (60%).

Despite the optimistic stances of business executives in the Greek sample, the corresponding—latest available—global survey, EY Sustainable Value Study 2023, observed a retrenchment in business progress on climate action. Characteristically, the average target year of participants' organizations had shifted from 2036 to 2050, while the percentage of those intending to invest more in climate action had fallen from 63% in 2022 to 41%.

DIFFERENTIATION IN RELATION TO THE GLOBAL SAMPLE

The companies in the survey in Greece, however, differ significantly from the global sample and in their ESG investment priorities over the next 12 months. Typically, climate change (37%) ranks 3rd for Greece, at a time when it is the top priority globally. Social impact, human rights and labor standards (45%, compared to 29% globally) emerge as the top priority for businesses in Greece instead, with supply chain risk identification and management (40%) following.

THE INITIATIVES AND THE CREATION OF BROADER VALUE

The majority of respondents believe that the value their companies have gained from their climate initiatives has exceeded their initial expectations. Thus, 61% said that more value was created than expected for customers, and 56% for society. Similarly, 49% estimated that more financial value was created for businesses themselves.

Investors (64%) and customers (45%) were cited as key accelerators of sustainable development actions and, to a lesser extent, NGOs and other civil society organizations (41%) and employees (39%). However, 23% of respondents reported that customers are a constraint to such initiatives.

Based on the findings of the survey and the experience of EY's Sustainable Development Services teams, the survey concludes with a set of recommendations for improving the performance of businesses in Greece, which move in 3 directions:

• Strengthening the role of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)
• Leveraging the regulatory framework and sustainability reporting
• Focus on Scope 3 emissions

FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY

Commenting on the findings of the survey, George Papadimitriou, CEO of EY Greece, said that "in today's global environment of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, it is reasonable for many businesses to prioritize addressing pressing short-term challenges. Climate change, however, is also an immediate threat that requires intense mobilization from all of us and especially from businesses. It is really encouraging that the businesses that participated in our survey confirm that by systematically investing in sustainable development initiatives, they are creating value beyond their expectations, not only for society, the planet and customers, but also financial value for themselves."