Mace has released the findings of an independent poll (by Censuswide) that gathered the views of more than 3,000 senior business leaders (from the UK, USA, Australia, United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) on how to tackle the carbon challenge.

The poll formed part of Mace's Carbon Survey report, now in its fourth consecutive year, which found that sustainability remains on the agenda around the world – with an increasing focus in those areas which have previously been less mature in carbon reduction.

The report outlines how businesses around the world are continuing to take the climate challenge seriously with 82% of businesses polled reporting to have a carbon reduction plan in place for their property/infrastructure portfolio (up from 61% in 2022). Further, some 74% of business leaders said that they have actively put carbon reduction ahead of profit in the last 12 months (representing a nearly 50% increase on last year).


When it comes to attracting talent, it’s clear that sustainability ambitions are also important to job seekers. There was a 34% year-on-year increase in respondents stating their interest in working for a business would be impacted by its sustainability efforts (from 56% in 2022 to 90.6% in 2023).

While businesses are continuing to make efforts to curb the impact of climate change, the polling has found that they still believe the ultimate responsibility lies elsewhere. 36% of respondents to the poll said that Governments are most responsible for reducing the carbon footprint of buildings and infrastructure.

Also, 90% of Mace’s clients, who were approached for their input on the Carbon Survey, believe that property and construction’s progress on decarbonisation was about the same as in previous years. with 58% saying far more needs to be done to cut emissions.