Companies in the Netherlands lead the way with transition plans for sustainable operations

More and more Dutch companies have an action-oriented transition plan in order to contribute to achieving the commitments laid down in the Paris Climate Agreement. And that is necessary, climate change is catching up with predictions. Over the past 12 months, the global climate has become more unpredictable, with new records and more extreme weather events. For the 5th edition of the Climate Barometer, published today, the specialists of accountancy and consulting firm EY analyzed the publicly available information of 50 companies from ten different sectors headquartered in the Netherlands. These companies are among the leaders in their sector based on size and market influence. To make comparisons with companies in other countries, the Dutch dataset was compared to the dataset of 1,411 companies as analyzed for the previously published EY Global Climate Action Barometer. The starting point for the analysis is the framework of the Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

According to Taco Bosman, partner climate change & sustainability services at EY in the Netherlands, the transition plan is central to a company's shift to a more sustainable business model. "The latest Dutch Barometer shows that now 50% of the analyzed companies in the Netherlands have both drafted and disclosed a transition plan. This is higher than the global average of 41% and can be attributed to the EU's stricter transparency requirements, such as the CSRD and CSDD regulations."

Bosman: "The CSRD puts the focus on transparency, with companies reporting on their climate goals and to what extent they align with the 1.5-degree standard from the Paris Climate Agreement. In the coming years, the CSDD will raise the bar by requiring companies to set ambitious, measurable and compliant targets. This makes drafting a credible transition plan a strategic necessity right now."