The threat of cyber attacks and the impact of economic forces on the bottom line are the top concerns of global chief executives according to a study.
The PwC 25th Annual Global CEO Survey said 49 per cent of CEOs are most concerned about cyber risks and 48 per cent about the global health situation while economic instability came in third.
Concerns around climate change and social inequality come lower down the list and are deemed to "pose smaller immediate threats to revenue."
The study, which includes responses from 4,446 CEOs across 89 countries, also revealed only 22 per cent of respondents have made net-zero commitments. It is more likely to be larger, highly trusted, and often public companies that have made the commitment and to have also linked CEO compensation to issues such as employee engagement and gender diversity.
PwC points to the "echo chamber phenomenon" to help explain the findings whereby "leaders of companies that understand the need to take dramatic action, which tend to be large in terms of both revenue and resources, are the most vocal and active."
The CEOs of companies with revenues greater than $10 billion said climate change was the top threat. Nearly two-thirds of those with revenues of $25 billion or more have made a net-zero commitment, compared to 10 per cent of companies with revenues of less than $100 million.
In addition to the fifth that are committed to net zero, a further 29 per cent are "working toward making a commitment to net zero."
Overall the PwC study concludes that CEOs have almost reached a tipping point when it comes to purpose with commitments to issues such as the environment and workplace diversity increasing.
Further insight from the report revealed confidence for revenue growth over the next year from more than 50 per cent of CEOs. Perhaps unsurprisingly CEOs of private equity firms were most optimistic about revenue growth with 67 per cent "highly confident" while leaders of technology firms came second with 64 per cent "highly confident."
More lukewarm about revenue growth in the next 12 months were the CEOs of the automotive industry, only 46 per cent were highly confident and for the hospitality and leisure industry, only 44 per cent were highly confident.