To examine the link between financial performance and climate action, our survey asked CEOs to provide their company’s profit margin during the previous fiscal year, their company’s revenue-growth rate during the previous fiscal year, and the extent to which their companies have taken various climate actions, such as innovating new climate-friendly products or technologies, or selling products, services, and technologies that support climate resilience. (We collected this information with separate questions, so as to reduce the likelihood that respondents might skew their answers to one question to line up with their answers to another.)
Then, we used advanced statistical techniques to look for correlations between independent variables. The analysis went beyond dividing CEOs into groups (say, those with high levels of climate action and those with low levels) and comparing responses (such as average profit margin) within those groups. Rather, we removed the effects of other factors—such as industry composition, company size, and geography—that could have explained the differences among groups. By doing so, we can better measure the specific effects of climate action on financial performance.