Accelerating Value Chain Decarbonization for Corporate Growth Perspectives from Asia 2025

Executive summary The success of the global transition to a low- carbon economy is critically dependent upon Asia. The region powered over half of the global GDP (gross domestic product) growth in 2024 and is one of the world’s most important manufacturing hubs, with manufactured products such as photovoltaics, electric vehicles and batteries supporting the transition globally. These roles, together with Asia’s surging energy demand, rapid urbanization and increasing population, have also resulted in its contribution to over half of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Political and geoeconomic realities across regions are shifting, while corporate action for green growth continues to deliver. Emissions along the value chain, which accounts for 65–95% of corporate carbon footprints in Asia, remains one of the hardest areas to address, as value chains operate beyond companies’ direct control. Yet value chain transition is pivotal to the region, both because of Asia’s historically significant and still prominent role in the global value chain as a region of critical manufacturers and suppliers, and its rising role as a system shaper and frontier clean technology provider for the global transition. More importantly, addressing value chain transition creates substantial untapped opportunities for Asian companies and drives system change for the local ecosystem in three main areas: 1 Addressing physical and transition risks 2 Enhancing efficiency and financial performance 3 Elevating competitiveness and unlocking new revenuesAsia is rapidly emerging as a leader in this domain. For example, the region is now a key driver of growth for science-based climate target setting, with the number of validated companies in the region increasing by 134% between the end of 2023 and the end of the second quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, CDP data shows that over 8,400 Asian companies now disclose climate data, even though transparency and action remain uneven based on disclosure data; developed Asian countries lead this process, while emerging nations such as China and several South-East Asian countries are making solid progress. From making commitments to elevating competitiveness, this white paper highlights context-based practices from leading businesses in emerging Asia, particularly in China and South- East Asia, which embed value chain action into corporate development strategy to ensure sustained value creation. It follows the framework of the World Economic Forum’s Industry Net Zero Accelerator initiative, which advocates that companies pursuing a value chain decarbonization journey should follow the “no-excuse” approach: –Start from within –Empower supply chains –Leverage industrial ecosystems –Drive cultural shift Value chain decarbonization is not a compliance burden but a $3 trillion opportunity. It lowers costs, mitigates risks, secures premium markets and strengthens resilience. With coordinated action by governments, businesses, financial institutions and technology providers, Asia can transform fragmented initiatives into system-wide progress, redefining industrial leadership in the low-carbon era.Asia’s value chain decarbonization is turning a global climate imperative into a leading engine for regional growth and resilience. Accelerating Value Chain Decarbonization for Corporate Growth: Perspectives from Asia 4