Climate Action 100+, the world’s largest investor engagement initiative on climate change, has released an updated Net Zero Company Benchmark framework for 2026. The revised framework is designed to improve clarity and usability for investors while maintaining the same level of ambition and focus on meaningful company progress.
Why the framework is being updated
The Net Zero Company Benchmark has served as a cornerstone of the initiative since its launch in 2021, providing investors with consistent, comparable insights into corporate transition planning and progress. This year’s update focuses on clarifying how assessments are delivered across providers, introducing a new specialist partner for governance and absolute emissions metrics, and refining a limited number of indicators in response to stakeholder feedback.
What has changed
The most significant development this year is a new partnership with the World Benchmarking Alliance, a leading research organisation, to support the delivery of climate governance and absolute emission metrics. This collaboration optimises the Benchmark’s capacity to track real-world decarbonisation outcomes.
Key changes for 2026 include:
- New partnerships and expertise – The Climate Action 100+ Initiative has incorporated the expertise of a new partner, the World Benchmarking Alliance, to assess climate governance and absolute emission reductions alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The provider change iterations but improves consistency and reduces duplication in the broader transition plan assessment ecosystem.
- Consolidated climate lobbying metrics – All climate policy engagement Metrics will be assessed by InfluenceMap, reducing duplication and ensuring consistency. This transition also reflects InfluenceMap’s expertise as a leading specialist in corporate climate policy analysis.
- Limited methodology and metric refinement – In response to stakeholder feedback, a small number of sub-indicators and metrics have been removed and/or refined, focusing the framework on the most material and decision-useful information for investors. Where assessment providers have shifted, methodologies and indicators have also been refined accordingly, without changing the overarching expectations.
View the full framework overview here
View all framework updates here
The new partnership with the World Benchmarking Alliance complements the work of other existing Climate Action 100+ research partners, bringing together expertise across multiple dimensions of corporate climate performance:
- Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) Centre – Assesses indicators evaluating GHG reduction targets, decarbonisation strategy, capital allocation, commitment to the principles of a Just Transition and emission intensity reductions.
- InfluenceMap – Assesses company climate policy engagement disclosure.
- Carbon Tracker Initiative – Assesses climate accounting and audit, and capital allocation alignment for oil and gas companies.
Together, these partnerships deliver a comprehensive benchmarking tool that supports rigorous investor engagement across all focus company sectors.
Why and how the Benchmark matters
The Net Zero Company Benchmark serves as a reference point for investors to assess company performance against industry standards and global climate goals. It informs engagement priorities and voting decisions and enables progress to be tracked over time through transparent and comparable analysis.
For companies, the Benchmark highlights best practices and performance expectations for mitigating climate-related risk, consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Demonstrating credible transition planning, robust governance, and alignment between strategy, capital allocation, and stated targets strengthens a company’s capacity to anticipate and manage structural risks[1][2]. This enhances resilience to future shocks, reduces uncertainty around long-term performance, and supports sustained investor confidence [3].
While the Benchmark is not a ranking tool, it provides visibility into corporate climate transition preparedness, equipping both investors and companies to engage more effectively on climate action.
Next steps
The 2026 Benchmark assessments will be released in October 2026.
For questions about the updated framework, please contact: [ [email protected] ].
[1] CDP, Companies Save US$54bn Through Low-Carbon Action – Evidence That the Data to Unlock Trillions Already Exists, 11 November 2025. CDP found that companies with transition plans were nearly twice as likely as peers to identify short-term growth and cost-saving opportunities (51% vs 28%).
[2] BS EN 18074:2025, Industrial decarbonization: Requirements and guidelines for sectoral transition plans. The standard notes that implementing sectoral transition plan guidance can improve operational efficiency, reduce energy costs, enhance competitiveness, and help future-proof operations against regulatory and market changes.
[3] Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, Asset Owners in Asia Make Crucial Progress on Climate-Defying Global Narrative (24 March 2026). Analysis of 100+ major asset owners found that formal recognition of climate as an investment risk rose to 63%, net zero commitments to 40%, and climate solutions investment targets to 44% between 2024 and 2025.