URB-A.03.C - Executive Remuneration Sustainability Linkage
Does the company link senior executive remuneration to its sustainability targets?
About the data
The WBA Urban Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to shape sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban environments, tracking how companies address essential urban needs while respecting planetary boundaries across dimensions including decent work and human rights, environmental and climate impacts, social inclusion, and sustainability leadership. The 2026 edition assessed 300 companies across four key industries shaping urban environments: real estate, construction and engineering, transport, and utilities. Companies were scored on 24 urban-specific indicators plus 18 core social indicators, spanning four measurement areas: sustainable governance, inclusive cities, healthy cities, and climate change and resilient cities. The benchmark is designed to incentivise the private sector to take adequate responsibility for its role in ensuring affordable, safe and inclusive urban environments for all. More information can be found here.
Methodology
Assigning responsibility for sustainability decision-making and oversight to the highest
governance body ensures strategic alignment and accountability at the top level. Additionally, having
dedicated sustainability functions, teams or committees can drive effective implementation of the
sustainability strategy across the organisation. Linking senior executives’ remuneration to
sustainability targets and having a supervisory board with relevant expertise incentivises leadership to
prioritise and achieve meaningful progress on the company’s most material sustainability issues.
Research Guidance
This element assesses if companies explicitly link senior executives' remuneration to metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) related to GHG emissions reductions, within its long-term incentive plan (likely to include equity in the company).Furthermore, additional environmental and/or social metrics and KPIs that are material to the company (e.g., percentage of sustainable sourcing of materials, single use plastic reduction, etc.) are expected to be linked to senior executives' remuneration.Climate targets are required to be linked to long-term incentives, whereas this is not mandatory for environmental and social targets.**Attributes required:** GHG emissions reduction metrics and KPIs linked to senior executives' remuneration through long-term incentive plans. Environmental and/or social targets in executive compensation structures.
governance body ensures strategic alignment and accountability at the top level. Additionally, having
dedicated sustainability functions, teams or committees can drive effective implementation of the
sustainability strategy across the organisation. Linking senior executives’ remuneration to
sustainability targets and having a supervisory board with relevant expertise incentivises leadership to
prioritise and achieve meaningful progress on the company’s most material sustainability issues.
Research Guidance
This element assesses if companies explicitly link senior executives' remuneration to metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) related to GHG emissions reductions, within its long-term incentive plan (likely to include equity in the company).Furthermore, additional environmental and/or social metrics and KPIs that are material to the company (e.g., percentage of sustainable sourcing of materials, single use plastic reduction, etc.) are expected to be linked to senior executives' remuneration.Climate targets are required to be linked to long-term incentives, whereas this is not mandatory for environmental and social targets.**Attributes required:** GHG emissions reduction metrics and KPIs linked to senior executives' remuneration through long-term incentive plans. Environmental and/or social targets in executive compensation structures.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report