New report finds 68% of managers are more likely to deal with suppliers that have a net zero policy

New research has revealed that 87% of Australian businesses believe technology will play a vital role in meeting Australia’s 2050 net zero emissions target.

The Trail to Net Zero for Australia report, which was launched by CRM global leader Salesforce on Monday and focuses on sustainability efforts in Australia, provided insights from more than 1000 small, medium and large businesses across the country. 

Climate change and business sentiment were also addressed within the report, exploring how cloud migration can help reduce emissions while offering policy recommendations to accelerate emissions reductions in Australia.

There was growing support for net zero emissions targets, with 80% of managers surveyed stating they support Australia setting a net zero emissions target by 2050, with higher support among managers from manufacturing and transportation businesses.

The findings also revealed 68% of the managers surveyed said they would be more likely to purchase products or services if the supplying business had a net zero target. 

A majority of businesses also believed the shift to net zero would positively impact the total number of jobs in the economy, with 52% of respondents saying they thought there will be more jobs overall as a result.

Salesforce vice president of government affairs and public policy, APAC and Japan, Sassoon Grigorian says the report suggests that a net zero economy will lead to more jobs and be good for business, given the growing preference for business to select suppliers with net zero targets.

“Businesses not only support a net zero target but believe technology will play a critical role, further supported by the government providing subsidies and incentives for the development of renewable energy technology,” Grigorian said.

“We can’t improve what we don’t measure, and that’s why we’re calling for the government and business to adopt a shared digital platform to track emissions and forecast emission patterns.

“The Salesforce Net Zero Cloud streamlines and simplifies the carbon emissions reporting process by enabling businesses to track, analyse, and report on environmental data and turn that data into actionable insights.”

However, while Trail to Net Zero for Australia respondents agreed that technology will play a crucial role in meeting net zero targets by 2050, while 41% of business managers surveyed believe governments should be doing more to address climate change.

Last week, the Albanese government’s landmark Climate Change Bills passed the Senate, confirming the government’s emissions reduction target of 43% and net zero emissions by 2050.

The Australian Information Industry Association CEO Simon Bush says the urgency of the climate crisis requires swift and ambitious action to reduce our impact of emissions.

“Understanding the perspectives of those who are helping to drive the investment to a better future is imperative to see where gaps remain,” he said.