Fewer than 10 percent of CEOs in the UK have any financial incentive to cut the environmental impact of their business practices, according to new research released today by the Vlerick Business School. It found that just six percent of CEOs have their bonus linked to an environmental target, and fewer than one percent have long-term pay incentives for improving their business' environmental performance. The findings are based on an analysis of pay levels, habits and incentives for CEOs and CFOs at 899 European companies, including 159 UK firms. The analysis included the 600 largest firms across Europe. However, there is evidence that the number of businesses linking executive renumeration to progress against environmental goals is rising, as corporates look to deliver on increasingly ambitious climate targets. Several large companies have linked executive bonuses to climate targets in recent years, including a raft of household names such as L'Oreal, RWE and Shell.

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The Business Green