COP30: Showing up matters, proving it matters more

With COP30 underway, it feels like the world is ready to move. This year’s summit has to be more than a forum for pledges, and instead become a proving ground for progress. Every conversation, every commitment and every collaboration seems to circle one defining question: how do we turn ambition into accountability?

This year, that question feels sharper than ever. Before the summit, much of the global buzz was about who wouldn't be in the room. The absence of U.S. President Donald Trump and members of his administration has been noticed, a reminder that political winds may shift, but the climate crisis does not wait. COP30 can’t afford to become defined by who steps back. It must be remembered for who steps up. The absence of a few voices only makes it more important for the rest of the world to stay the course.

COP30 matters because climate change will, of course, first and foremost be an environmental challenge, but it’s also a business resilience issue. The global economy is being reshaped by climate risk, and businesses that fail to adapt are already feeling the consequences.

Trust as the new currency in climate action

Stakeholders, investors and consumers aren’t just asking for sustainability reports, they’re demanding credible proof of impact. That credibility depends on something fundamental, and that’s trusted data and independent verification.

I feel confident that the next frontier of climate action won’t be about who can set the most ambitious targets, it will be about who can produce evidence that stands up to challenge. In a world flooded with sustainability data, trust is the new scarcity. Data without integrity isn’t progress, it’s noise. The organisations that can prove the credibility of their numbers will be the ones shaping policy, influencing markets and earning stakeholder confidence.

At LRQA, we see first-hand how the world’s leading organisations are working to strengthen that trust. Across every sector, from energy to manufacturing, consumer goods to finance, the focus is shifting. Instead of, “what do we measure?” it’s “how do we prove it?”

The conversation around Scope 3 emissions continues to dominate, and rightly so. These indirect emissions remain one of the most complex, and yet most critical, elements of corporate climate strategies. Progress is happening, and we’re proud to be part of that movement – verifying carbon footprints, auditing environmental management systems and supporting responsible sourcing programmes that drive real change through global supply chains.

If COP30 will be remembered for anything, it should be for a from dialogue to delivery, from intent to integrity. Real progress depends on confidence: confidence in the data, the systems, and the people driving change.

Business leadership when politics waver

That confidence also depends on continuity. When global leadership wavers, business must lead. The private sector can’t afford to pause because politics gets in the way. Companies have the scale, the reach and increasingly the moral responsibility to ensure momentum isn’t lost. Let’s prove that sustainability doesn’t hinge on political cycles, but on collective commitment.

At LRQA, we’re proud to be part of that global ecosystem of trust. By providing independent assurance and data-driven insights, we help organisations move beyond ambition and towards accountable, measurable outcomes that create lasting impact.

As leaders gather for COP30, let’s make sure the conversations and the commitments are not just about vision, but about verification. Because the future of sustainability depends on it. The next 12 months will test whether our global climate commitments can withstand real-world complexity, from supply chain disruption to geopolitical uncertainty. Those challenges can’t be solved by policy alone – they’ll be solved through partnerships built on transparency and verification.

That’s where business leadership will make the difference, by proving that sustainability and profitability aren’t opposing goals, but interdependent outcomes when managed through evidence and trust.

Learn more

Explore our latest thought leadership report, Risk by Numbers: Quantifying Risk, Revealing Opportunity, which explores how leading organisations are transforming risk management.

The report draws on global data, expert commentary and proprietary intelligence from LRQA’s EiQ supply chain intelligence software. It also features exert perspectives from global brands including McDonald’s and Holland & Barrett, and provides a five-point framework and practical guidance for businesses.

The numbers tell a story.

Download today.