McKinsey Climate Goals
See McKinsey's SBTi-validated net-zero targets, its role as a Frontier founding member and how it uses permanent carbon removal and credits.
McKinsey & Company advises clients on net-zero transitions and is also a corporate buyer of carbon removal. It was one of the five founding members of Frontier, and it has set science-based targets for its own emissions.
McKinsey's net-zero targets
McKinsey says its emissions reduction targets are validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Its 2050 net-zero target commits it to cutting Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 90% and Scope 3 business travel emissions per full-time employee by 97%, both against a 2019 baseline. It has also set interim targets for 2030 that the SBTi has validated. Separately, the firm pledged in 2021 to reach net-zero climate impact by 2030, according to a McKinsey blog post.
Founding member of Frontier
In April 2022, McKinsey joined Stripe, Alphabet, Shopify and Meta in launching Frontier, an advance market commitment to buy permanent carbon removal. The founding commitment was $925 million, and Frontier now states a commitment to buy $1.8 billion of permanent carbon removal by 2040. McKinsey took part through its McKinsey Sustainability arm. See how the programme works in our Frontier explainer.
At launch, Frontier said developers would need to show they could store carbon permanently and had a path to a cost of $100 per tonne or less. To see how this kind of buying works in practice, read our guides to carbon removal credits and carbon dioxide removal.
Nature-based removal and sustainable aviation
- Symbiosis Coalition: McKinsey supports this commitment to contract for up to 20 million tonnes of nature-based removal by 2030. Learn more in our nature-based removal guide.
- Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance: McKinsey is a founding member of the alliance, which aims to scale up high-integrity sustainable aviation fuel.
Carbon credits for residual emissions
McKinsey says it purchases carbon credits certified by international standards, and aims to permanently remove all of its residual emissions in line with climate science.
What to watch
- McKinsey's own targets run to 2050, so interim progress reports are the best check on delivery.
- As both an adviser and a buyer, its choices can shape what clients consider credible removal.
- Compare with fellow Frontier founders Stripe, Google, Shopify and Meta.
Sources
Other Climate Goals
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