This article is part of Bain's 2025 CEO Sustainability Guide

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More companies are setting climate goals as it becomes clear that their long-term business value and organizational resilience depend on it. In the first six months of 2025, the number of companies that set a net-zero target using the Science Based Targets initiative climbed by 34% (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Companies will not be able to meet these goals without carbon dioxide removals (CDRs), which take carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere and store it durably for many years. In hard-to-abate sectors, such as cement, chemicals, and aviation, any net-zero ambition must include a commitment (either implicit or explicit) to buy CDRs.

CDRs can be nature-based solutions, such as reforestation, or any of a variety of technological solutions. One example is direct air capture and storage, which extracts CO₂ from the air and stores it underground in mineralized form. Some proposed technological solutions could store CO₂ durably for thousands of years, reducing the risk of rereleasing the stored CO₂.

Consider the cement industry. Today, approximately 23% of industry emissions can be abated with a positive return on investment, according to Bain analysis. Another 55% will cost around $100 per ton to abate. The rest will cost significantly more, making them economically and technically impossible to address. While today most CDRs are not cost competitive, in time, as technologies mature, they could become an affordable way to offset emissions otherwise infeasible to address.

Early adopters are helping to make that happen. Airbus, Bayer, Bain, JPMorgan Chase, LEGO, Microsoft, and Mitsui OSK Lines are some of the companies proactively procuring CDRs. By demonstrating demand for CDRs, these companies help technology developers and suppliers justify scaling up their operations.

Not every company can invest at this scale, but every company does need to start mapping their path toward net zero. Wait too long, and the odds of meeting corporate carbon goals at a reasonable cost will drop fast. Forward-looking buyers are already beginning to lock in deliveries of CDR credits from the most promising and scalable technologies many years into the future.

Big demand, little supply

Today, many CDRs are prohibitively expensive and remain below the scale necessary to meet corporate net-zero commitments. AlliedOffsets, a leading carbon markets data provider, projects that the global supply of durable CO₂ removal will grow to approximately 21 million tons in 2030, 70 times the current capacity, but that demand, already greater than supply, will grow even faster (see Figure 2).

Figure 2

Reasonable estimates say that the global economy will need 5 to 10 gigatons of durable CO₂ removals annually by 2050 to reach net zero. Nature-based solutions will only cover a fraction of that. Technological solutions, currently producing less than 1 million metric tons of carbon removals, will have to fill the gap.

A number of CDR technologies could reach the scale at which they remove 1 gigaton of emissions annually, but similar to any large-scale industrial technology, they will require substantial upfront capital investment before their costs come down. That much capital won’t flow without a clearer picture of the value that investors can realize from financing removals.

Creating value with CDRs

The value of carbon removal purchases varies from company to company, depending on industry, jurisdiction, climate commitments, and stakeholder preferences. CDRs can create value in four ways, starting with foundational benefits gained today, followed by near-, mid-, and long-term returns:

• Foundational: Build knowledge to maximize investment value. Early engagement in the CDR market helps companies develop essential capabilities and insights. With new technologies rapidly emerging and media narratives often creating confusion, understanding the diversity of removal technologies and the integrity of resulting carbon removals helps companies maximize the value of their CDR investments.
  
  
• Short term: Unlock sales of green products. B2B customers are increasingly prioritizing sustainability in their procurement decisions, and companies can complete their low-carbon product with CDRs to create a net-zero value proposition for customers.
  
  Consider a global building materials company that has launched a line of low-carbon cement and concrete. The product line includes options with varying levels of emissions reduction, with the most sustainable option incorporating CDRs to achieve up to 100% emissions reduction. This has helped the company attract climate-conscious customers and significantly reduce its customers’ Scope 3 emissions.
  
  

• Medium term: Hedge against price inflation. As net-zero deadlines near and regulatory scrutiny intensifies, companies that delay action risk being priced out of the market. By signing multiyear offtake agreements, early movers secure prices and protect themselves against future market volatility. This is important because demand is already outstripping supply. Although the first durable CDR credits were purchased in 2021, deliveries only significantly increased in 2024. In 2025, purchases are projected to reach 14 million tons of CO₂, but actual deliveries will cover less than half a million tons, according to AlliedOffsets (see Figure 3).

Figure 3

• Medium to long term: Enhance credibility of net-zero targets. Corporate climate claims are facing increasing scrutiny, and standards are evolving to include durable CO₂ removals. Over the long term, companies will need to invest in CDRs alongside decarbonization for their net-zero claims to be credible.

Three steps CEOs can take now

Leaders can integrate climate and business strategy with three steps:

Develop a robust climate transition action plan. Build a comprehensive, enterprise-wide plan that connects climate targets with concrete actions and financial planning by:

• laying out a realistic decarbonization roadmap across Scopes 1, 2, and 3;
• integrating climate strategy into corporate budgeting and capital allocation; and
• accounting for the timing, scale, and types of CO₂ removals required.

Get explicit about carbon credit needs. Treat carbon credits as a strategic lever in the transition to net zero by:

• defining the company-specific value proposition of investing in CDRs;
• assessing the trade-off of CDR costs and impact with other decarbonization levers;
• quantifying long-term needs for CO₂ removal;
• setting clear procurement criteria aligned with corporate net-zero claims; and
• allocating financial resources and managing the risks proactively.

Secure long-term access to the required carbon credits. Lock in availability and pricing in an increasingly constrained and volatile market by:

• signing multiyear agreements with high-integrity CDR developers;
• reducing long-term exposure to price shocks and supply shortfalls; and
• enabling suppliers to invest and scale through predictable revenue streams.

Reaching net zero depends on building the infrastructure and technology needed for a decarbonized world. Every removal contract signed today sends a signal, shapes a market, and enables innovation. The future of net zero will be determined by the steps companies and CEOs take today.

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