We support all industrial sectors in achieving net zero emissions by 2050, balancing other sustainability goals and tailoring programs to regional circumstances. We provide innovative solutions and a living ecosystem of industry associations and knowledge platforms that focus on innovations for net zero.

Hard-to-abate sectors account for 81 percent of the global economy’s carbon footprint. We are working with these industries to accelerate the transition to net zero emissions. At the same time, the global economy must continue to grow. Currently, fossil fuels—more than 80 percent of primary energy demand—and non-electric cars—99 percent of the world’s fleet—are the driving forces of today’s economy. This picture will change significantly over the next decade, as limiting global warming to 1.5°C requires a 50 percent reduction in global emissions by 2030. However, net-zero transition for complex energy and industrial systems is extensive and requires changes in all areas, from capital allocation to product design to land use. We help our clients accelerate their green transformations while ensuring that our economy isn’t negatively impacted.

Reducing global emissions to achieve net zero will require technological innovation at an unprecedented rate.

To enable the wide-scale launch of these innovative technologies, policymakers need clarity about how they work—the scientific basis, the investment required, economies of scale, prices, legislation, environmental impact, and much more.

We launched the McKinsey Platform for Climate Technologies (MPCT) to help our clients plan, implement, and scale up these critical technologies. MPCT works with the world’s leading experts to anticipate the impact of new technologies and challenge conventional approaches to established ones. We focus on the most critical areas—technologies with the potential to change how every industry, region, and community meet their energy needs.

The climate crisis is a central issue of our time, so over the next five years, we’re investing $1 billion to help our clients, lead innovation and growth, and protect our planet.

Some of this investment goes to strategic acquisitions to enhance our capabilities, such as Vivid Economics, Planetrics, and Material Economics.

Other examples include the McKinsey Academy for Sustainability, which trains boards, executives, and colleagues on climate change, and several Technology Centers of Excellence, which develop groundbreaking innovations for batteries, hydrogen, carbon capture, nature-based solutions, water, plastics, and more.

McKinsey has committed to achieving a net-zero climate balance by 2030. As a key milestone in this process, we have set scientifically sound targets, which have been validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative in line with a 1.5-degree pathway. A multi-pronged approach in all areas of our firm will enable us to fulfill these commitments and reduce the carbon footprint of our firm.

We are reducing absolute emissions from our vehicles and offices by 25 percent—Scope 1 and 2—primarily by electrifying our vehicle fleet, offering alternative mobility packages, switching to 100 percent renewable electricity, and designing our offices worldwide to be more sustainable.

For our Scope 3 greenhouse-gas emissions—indirect emissions from internal and client travel—we are working to achieve our validated, scientifically-based target for 2025 of reducing travel costs per employee by 30 percent mainly through hybrid work models and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). As a firm, we can and will go beyond our official target to fulfill our commitment to climate neutrality by 2030.

Since 2018, we have been climate-neutral by compensating for all emissions that we have not yet been able to eliminate.