Roundtable on the future of corporate climate action Are targets the wrong starting point? Corporate climate action has been built around top-down targets. These create discipline, but may also push companies to prioritize what counts over what matters. A contrasting approach starts with capabilities, but tests them against the transition we are trying to build. Companies identify what they can actually change, where they have leverage, and where they can play a meaningful role. That role must be understood in relation to system transformation, not only what shows up neatly in the company’s GHG inventory Would this unlock greater ambition, or become a free-for-all where every company defines its own convenient version of climate leadership? This session asks how corporate climate strategy can move beyond cookie-cutter targets without losing accountability. An invitation-only roundtable discussion, starting with brief remarks by Robert Höglund, Head of Climate at Milkywire, and Lisa Sachs, Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, followed by a moderated discussion under Chatham House Rule. Participants will include corporate climate leaders, standards experts, funders, advisors and practitioners working on the next generation of corporate climate strategy. 8:30 - 9:00: Light breakfast and mingle 9:00 - 10:30: Opening remarks and discussion More information Milkywire is working on the next generation of corporate climate strategy through published thought leadership and advisory work with leading global companies. The focus is how companies can identify and act on their highest-value climate role, with strategies grounded in action and real-world impact, not only inventory accounting. Milkywire’s latest publication, Build the world your net zero target assumes, written by Robert Höglund together with Claire Wigg at Exponential Roadmap Initiative, explores this broader shift from “what counts” to “what matters” in corporate climate action. Moderator: Robert Höglund is head of climate at Milkywire, where he leads work on corporate climate strategy, climate finance and carbon removal. He is a member of the SBTi Expert Working Group and the EU Expert Group on Carbon Removals, co-founder of CDR.fyi, and a frequent writer on corporate climate action and carbon removal. Featured speaker: Lisa Sachs is Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment and Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia Climate School, where she also directs the M.S. in Climate Finance. Her recent work argues that corporate climate action primarily needs to be assessed by its contribution to systems transformation.