• 78% of CEOs prioritize climate-friendly products, services, tech
• 59% of CEOs globally see AI is helping them become more productive in their own work
• 44% of CEOs hopeful to see GenAI providing a net increase in profits in the next 12 mon
• of CEOs agree” GenAI is likely to increase cybersecurity risk 77% (63%)
• CEOs expect spread of misinformation 63%of
• CEOs have a societal responsibility to oversee responsible AI use within their organization.

The PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey – issued in January 2024 – showed that 78% of CEOs globally and 68% in the US prioritize innovating new, climate-friendly products, services and technology.

The most notable climate action US CEOs are taking is making their companies more energy efficient, with 86% saying it’s either planned, in progress or completed. There may be more they can do. Reducing the energy intensity of economic activity – energy used per unit of gross domestic product – could reduce energy consumption by up to 32%, potentially saving up to $2 trillion annually, according to a World Economic Forum report. 

However, US CEOs lag in their climate plans compared with their global counterparts, and many CEOs report having no plans for a range of other key actions. For example, just 59% of US respondents say incorporating climate risk into financial planning is either planned, in progress or completed, below the 66% of global respondents — and more than one-third (38%) of US CEOs have no plans to factor climate risk into planning. 

As business leaders set their agendas for the new year, US CEOs, their management teams and directors are largely aligned on their decarbonization commitments. In fact, only 4% of US CEOs cite a lack of buy-in from their board or management team as a large or very large barrier to pursuing a decarbonization agenda at their company.

Many CEOs (29%) are pressing ahead with climate-friendly investments despite potentially lower returns, indicating they’re trying to find the proper balance between mitigating climate risk and sustaining shareholder returns. And with the recent agreement at the COP 28 summit to increase the use of renewables and transition away from fossil fuel dependence, CEOs will remain under pressure to create achievable plans that accelerate the climate transition.

CEOs see AI vital to boost profit, cautious about cybersecurity:

Over 60% of CEOs in the survey – 64% globally and 68% in the US – said that the next 12 months will see Gen AI increasing the amount of work that employees can accomplish. 

About 59% of CEOs globally see AI is helping them become more productive in their own work. 

These CEOs are hopeful, with 44% saying they see GenAI providing a net increase in profits in the next 12 months versus just 3% projecting a net decrease.

Overwhelmingly, as they think about the range of potential risks from GenAI, CEOs agree a cybersecurity breach is the primary pitfall (77% “slightly,” “moderately” or “strongly agree” GenAI is likely to increase this risk), followed by the spread of misinformation in their company (63%) and legal or reputational damage (55%). Given those findings, CEOs have a societal responsibility to oversee responsible AI use within their organization.

Efficiency gains, however, aren’t the highest use of GenAI to power enterprise transformation. The bigger prize lies in making people more valuable. Employees who know how to use AI likely will outcompete those who don’t. But CEOs can’t rely mainly on hiring GenAI-savvy people. There are too few of them at the moment. Instead, CEOs should unlock their current staff’s capabilities, and that requires skills training, guardrails and encouragement to automate and augment routine tasks, freeing up more time for higher-value, revenue-boosting work. To unlock more value, businesses should prioritize a responsible approach to AI and incorporate trust by design in everything they do.

Indeed, giving employees the tools and the encouragement to work smarter and pursue sales opportunities dovetails with the top strategic priority on the CEO agenda: 52% say their No. 1 goal over the next three years is generating new revenue streams.

Unsurprisingly, CEOs expect technology to be at the center of bringing those new revenue streams into existence. Fifty-seven percent of US CEOs expect changes in technology to drive future value creation for their organizations by either a large or very large extent, outpacing changing consumer preferences (45%) and government regulation (39%).

It is worth mentioning that the survey – which covered 4,702 CEOs across 105 countries and territories – found that 38% of CEOs are optimistic about global economic growth prospects over the next 12-months, up from 18% in 2023.

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