Sustainability goals pursued by large businesses have become anchored on decarbonisation — but that may be changing.

For the past decade or more, most corporate sustainability programmes have had a headline target to reduce carbon emissions. For many, more recently those ambitions have been sharpened into a net zero target by a set date, typically 2030, 2035 or 2050.

And often, periodic sustainability updates — most commonly around the financial reporting cycle — focus first and foremost on progress towards that goal.

But recently, more companies have looked to broaden those horizons by adding further environmental or social targets, so that carbon reduction remains core but is not necessarily the primary focus.

In part, that may be because of the public’s increasingly polarised view of the sacrifices required and personal cost increases — in some eyes — of adopting cleaner methods of transportation, heating, food consumption and other larger emitters. The term “net zero” has itself become politically charged, to the point that it can detract from the economic or commercial logic of a less pollutive future.

There is the potential that widespread commitments to carbon reduction have made firms realise the broader environmental benefits which are achievable and within reach as a consequence of their transition to cleaner models. This interview with the sustainability head of water producer Highland Spring this week is a case in point.

Then there’s biodiversity, with companies in sectors that have prominent impact, such as food and drink, and heavy industries, having added initiatives that restore and enhance natural habitats to their sustainability programmes. The Financial Times covered this trend more than a year ago, but the likes of John Lewis and Tesco having increased their focus on environmental ecosystems since. There is already a 2030 UK biodiversity goal and related plan.

More broadly, there’s a sense that investors, asset managers, NGOs and activists are looking at environmental programmes more comprehensively, and — likely for several reasons — seeking to have less of a singular focus on decarbonisation, instead pursuing a headline carbon goal alongside others. The United Nations is leaning in too, having recently set out a 2030 ocean safeguarding treaty.

But perhaps the clearest signal came this week when the Financial Conduct Authority announced a new consultation into future UK sustainability reporting standards. The FCA is looking to mandate that listed companies adopt the upcoming IFRS-based Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS) from 2027, which would compel them to make public disclosures well beyond the current remit of climate-related impacts.

Those measures may be first and foremost intended to ensure greater transparency and straight-bat information sharing for financial markets, but would also likely prompt companies to align sustainability programmes to their broader scope. Carbon emissions would still be ‘the daddy’, but action, investment and value created would become further-reaching.