As companies face both political and market headwinds in their climate transitions, many are either pulling back, pausing or placing less public emphasis on sustainability initiatives.
At the same time, many are pushing forward with renewed determination, driven by both principle and competitive advantage.
In the last year Trellis has reported on shifts in sustainability reporting and transition plans. Below are summaries from five major U.S.-based companies: that are struggling to lower their greenhouse gas footprints: Patagonia, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and PepsiCo.
All have acknowledged obstacles , none have given up on their sustainability ambitions. Tech giants like Google and Amazon have seen dramatic spikes in emissions since they first set net-zero targets, due largely to the data center boom driven by AI applications, while PepsiCo cites regulatory pullback and lack of outside investment for downgrading some of its targets.
A new list
Gauging these companies’ progress, or lack thereof, is part of a larger Trellis project to compile, track and analyze sustainability reports from hundreds of companies both large and small.
To start with, we’ve compiled a list of sustainability reports released in 2025 from 1,102 companies.
The list includes all of the reports publicly filed in 2025 that were readily obtainable. While we can’t guarantee that it’s completely exhaustive, it includes many of America’s largest companies and a host of medium and small enterprises. For more on how we compiled the list, see this overview.
Faced with political pushback and business headwinds, many companies had not released reports at all as of last summer: The number of sustainability reports released in the first six months of 2025 dropped by half from the previous year.
It’s a mistake not to report about sustainability according to a report released in December 2025 by the Global Reporting Initiative: A review of 30 studies on the relationship between sustainability reporting and business results showed “a positive correlation between companies that disclose their impacts and improved financial performance,” the report concluded.
- 22 of the 30 studies found that sustainability reporting leads to improved financial performance, “particularly when aligned with globally accepted standards.”
- Robust sustainability reporting is linked to “increased stakeholder trust, brand loyalty, and employee satisfaction.”
- Organizations in emissions-intensive industries such as energy, mining, and manufacturing showed the strongest correlation between sustainability reporting and financial performance.
That said, many business leaders continue to weigh the benefits and downsides of full transparency.
Here are more details about the sustainability plans for five key companies:
PepsiCo downgrades its sustainability ambitions
The consumer foods company has reduced some emissions targets and pushed its net-zero goal back to 2050. In its climate transition plan…It backtracked on climate, packaging and some water goals, but says its new transition plan is aligned with a 1.5 degree Celsius pathway.
- The company has also downgraded pledges to increase use of recycled material and to cut back on virgin plastic in its packaging.
- Reasons for the pullback include the need for more regulatory support and investment in climate projects from outside sources.
- Still, PepsiCo’s Climate Transition Plan, released in May, reveals areas of solid progress: A commitment to scale regenerative agriculture, for example, has been increased from 7 million to 10 million acres by 2030.
Microsoft is not backing off its 2030 climate goal
The tech giant is counting on removal, AI and climate tech to achieve carbon-negative status by the decade’s end, despite reporting a 23-percent cumulative increase in its total greenhouse gas emissions since 2020.
- Two of the company’s senior executives describe its emissions increase as “modest” compared with its 168-percent increase in energy use and 71-percent growth in revenue over the same time period.
- Microsoft is spending billions of dollars on its long game to cut emissions, banking on its history as a market-maker.
- The company’s biggest single emissions category relates to capital expenses, such as materials to construct new data centers.
Coming soon: a program to help Microsoft suppliers buy sustainable aviation fuel.
The iconic outdoor gear and apparel company made significant progress by switching to “preferred materials” but is struggling to tame supply chain emissions.
- Patagonia’s emissions rose 2 percent in fiscal year 2025, largely because of changes in its product offerings.
- Raw materials and finished goods manufacturing contribute 92 percent of the company’s carbon footprint.
- The company has adopted a coal phaseout mandate for suppliers.
The big reason for the year-over-year rise, according to its first comprehensive environmental and social progress report, published in November: “more carbon-intensive” materials in new duffels and packs, which were a larger part of its 2025 sales.
Amazon’s secret weapon for countering higher emissions: fellow Climate Pledge signatories
The e-commerce and cloud computing giant’s emissions grew 34 percent since its 2019 baseline year, to 68.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent for 2024, according to its latest sustainability report, released in August.
- Currently, Amazon supports close to 20 joint action projects aimed at solving mutual decarbonization challenges.
- Amazon encourages high-emitting suppliers to set climate goals aligned with its own.
- More than 1.7 billion products are marketed on its site as Climate Pledge Friendly.
The company is committed to its existing goal, which commits it to becoming net zero by 2040 through the Climate Pledge framework it co-created in 2019.
Google holds to ambitious 2030 net-zero goal despite another big emissions hike
Google remains committed to its “intentionally ambitious” pledge to achieve net zero by 2030 — even though the company’s overall greenhouse gas emissions have increased dramatically since its 2019 baseline year.
- The tech giant’s carbon footprint has swelled 51 percent since the 2019 baseline year for its 2030 commitment.
- Google’s ambitions are complicated by data center construction projects.
- The company will push suppliers to transition to clean energy.
- AI in products like Nest smart thermostat enabled 26 million metric tons in emissions cuts.
Google’s emissions reduction strategy, which it says was validated by the Science Based Targets initiative in February, calls for a 50 percent cut to its market-based Scope 1 and 2 emissions (for operations and purchased energy) and to its Scope 3 supply chain footprint. Google plans to “neutralize” the residual emissions with carbon removals.