UK Businesses Retreat from Climate Targets Amid Growth Concerns
A 2025 survey by the British Standards Institution shows that most UK businesses are pulling back from climate targets, citing costs and doubts over the government’s net-zero strategy. Confidence in meeting 2050 goals has dropped sharply, despite continued interest in action if support is provided.
British businesses are rolling back on climate action targets at an accelerating rate, with most business leaders currently questioning whether, in fact, one can expand the economy and have net-zero emissions at the same time. A recent survey by British Standards Institution (BSI) of 1,000 senior leaders across sectors including health, construction, finance, and manufacturing showed plummeting business climate activity in 2025.
71% of UK business leaders, as it happens, are convinced economic growth is never compatible with this century's net-zero agenda. Furthermore, a majority of the survey participants said it is impossible to achieve the net-zero goals with existing government policy and existing economic conditions. Decreasing confidence comes in the wake of political instability in the UK and general global reluctance to act on climate change.
Even though the Labour government had vowed to stimulate green investment, build clean energy, and create green jobs, British companies are becoming more sluggish in formulating goals and concrete measures towards environmental objectives. This change is being facilitated primarily due to high implementation costs, insufficient availability of finance for green technology, and strong emphasis on traditional business growth initiatives.
The percentage of companies that have issued net-zero statements has fallen significantly. Only 36% of companies in 2025 reported having them, down from 58% in 2024. The percentage of companies acting on the climate emergency has also fallen, from 83% in the previous year to only 49% this year. The proportion of businesses that think they can reach net zero by 2050 also fell from 76% to 55%, over half believing they will have to amend their green plans or postpone current pledges.
This retreat comes against the backdrop of international economic pressures and domestic policy shifts in priorities. The BSI linked the slowdown in business climate action to mistrust created by recent government turnover and a general global loss of momentum on climate. The slowdown indicates that most firms feel unsupported or bewildered on how to reconcile environmental stewardship with profitability.
Even during the collective downturn, the willingness to respond to climate is still there. Of executives, approximately 83% remain willing to pursue environmental action, provided with the right assistance. Still, existing impediments—particularly insufficient funds and strategic uncertainty—stand in the way of getting further.
This growth questions the UK's collective capacity to deliver its legally binding climate objectives and draws attention to the increasing tension between short-term economic imperatives and long-term sustainability objectives. Momentum toward net zero can be lost unless public policy is brought into closer correspondence with private sector incentives.
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Copied from a Reuters article. Original source: Reuters article on UK business and climate change
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