FOUR OF OUR BEST NEW IDEAS FOR THE C-SUITE

COP28 is here. Thousands of CEOs and other leaders have touched down in Dubai to take stock of progress toward net zero and forge ahead to a better future. In this special sustainability edition of the CEO Shortlist, we offer our latest research on one of the world’s biggest problems. We hope you enjoy the read.

—Liz and Homayoun

What’s new

Let’s get real. The real estate industry accounts for around 40 percent of global emissions. The good news is that the technology to replace oil burners and coal furnaces and dramatically improve energy efficiency already exists. It’s just a matter of deploying it.

How? Check out A new way to decarbonize buildings can lower emissions—profitably, a fresh take by Brodie Boland, Daniel Cramer, Alastair Green, Darya Guettler, Focko Imhorst, and Marita Winslade.

What’s now

All for one, one for all? Not since Alexandre Dumas has the world hoped for so much from the meetup of three plus one. Emissions reduction is the stated goal of net zero. But companies and society will need to account for three other goals too: affordability, reliability, and industrial competitiveness. What will be the denouement?

En garde. Take a stance with An affordable, reliable, competitive path to net zero, by Mekala Krishnan, Humayun Tai, Daniel Pacthod, Sven Smit, Tomas Nauclér, Blake Houghton, Jesse Noffsinger and Dirk Simon.

What’s next

Alone, you can go fast. Together, you can go far. When it comes to tackling global warming, cooperation is not just a nice-to-have. But how can we ensure the solutions will justify the considerable effort of rallying disparate entities with competing priorities?

McKinsey’s Sustainability experts have a plan. Get the download in The role of public–private–philanthropic partnerships in driving climate and nature transitions, a new report by Hamid Samandari, Daniel Pacthod, Shally Venugopal, Mekala Krishnan, Tracy Nowski, Adam Kendall, Jared Goodman, and Piers Rosholt.

What’s needed

Seven down, seven to go. The net-zero journey is at a halfway point, seven years after the Paris Agreement and seven years before the 2030 deadline. What progress will this year’s Conference of the Parties bring?

Watch What CEOs can expect at COP28, a McKinsey Live webinar with Cindy Levy and Daniel Pacthod.

We hope you find our sustainability content inspiring and helpful. See you in two weeks with four more McKinsey ideas for the CEO and others in the C-suite. 

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