Most companies expect their operations to be largely electrified by 2035, according to new polling of senior executives across 18 countries, as energy security and fossil fuel volatility climb the corporate agenda.
The research, released by We Mean Business Coalition, the Global Renewables Alliance, and E3G, found broad corporate support for electrification as companies look to reduce exposure to fossil fuel price shocks and cut emissions. The survey of nearly 2,000 executives suggests that electrification is increasingly being treated as a resilience measure as well as a climate target.
Energy strategy has changed sharply since the shocks caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, wider geopolitical instability, and rising climate-related disruption. Companies that once viewed transition planning largely through sustainability reporting are now linking it to cost predictability, operational continuity, and long-term competitiveness.
Electrification can reshape fleets, heating, manufacturing processes, warehouse equipment, data infrastructure, logistics, and property management. Some organisations can make relatively straightforward changes through electric vehicles, heat pumps, renewable electricity procurement, or on-site generation. Industrial companies face harder decisions involving plant redesign, grid connections, equipment replacement, financing, and workforce skills.
The polling also exposes the gap between corporate ambition and infrastructure readiness. Companies may want to electrify, but grid capacity, connection delays, planning systems, equipment availability, and policy uncertainty can slow delivery. In the UK, those constraints are already visible in clean energy projects, housing developments, manufacturing sites, and data centre plans.
Electricity’s share of final energy demand will need to expand significantly if governments and companies are to meet decarbonisation goals. At the Bonn climate conference, the COP31 presidency called for a global effort to “electrify daily life” and proposed a goal of meeting 35% of final energy demand with electricity by 2035. Corporate polling suggests that executive intent is broadly aligned with that direction.
The commercial case is being shaped by volatility as much as regulation. Fossil fuel exposure creates budget uncertainty for large energy users, fleet operators, manufacturers, retailers, and logistics companies. Electrification can reduce some of that exposure, especially where electric systems are paired with long-term renewable power contracts, storage, on-site generation, or more sophisticated energy management.
Lower emissions do not automatically mean lower costs. Electricity prices, network charges, capital expenditure, equipment lifecycles, maintenance requirements, and financing costs all affect the business case. Companies must also assess whether local grid capacity can support new loads, whether vehicles and machinery meet operational requirements, and whether savings justify the upfront investment.
The UK faces a particularly difficult version of that calculation. The country has strong offshore wind resources and a growing clean power sector, yet industrial electricity prices remain a concern for manufacturers, and grid connection queues continue to delay projects. Electrification will require coordination between corporate investment, network planning, policy design, and energy market reform.
The findings also alter the internal politics of sustainability. CFOs, operations directors, property teams, procurement leaders, and technology executives are becoming central to energy decisions because electrification affects balance sheets, asset values, operating costs, and risk management. Sustainability teams may set ambition, but delivery depends on capex approval, infrastructure planning, and operational redesign.
Public policy will now determine whether corporate intent can be turned into physical deployment. Companies need stable incentives, faster grid connections, clearer planning processes, and electricity markets that reward efficient, flexible demand. Without those conditions, the gap between ambition and implementation will widen.
Electrification has become part of mainstream business strategy as companies respond to volatile energy markets, net zero commitments, and resilience demands. The next test is whether energy infrastructure and policy can keep pace with the investment decisions now forming inside company boards and finance teams.
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