When I think back to the slow recovery from the financial crash, the phrase “green shoots” in headlines was largely frowned upon.

Because people felt it would jinx the bounceback, or because it was just a bloody irritating turn of phrase.

But I can’t think of a better way, as we step into spring, to encapsulate the modestly positive tone of stories that have surfaced this week about how companies are standing firm on their long-term sustainability targets and are showing good signs of progress.

Yes, despite all that is going on in the world at the moment politically.

In fact, according to PwC’s annual State of Decarbonisation Report that came out this week, the number of companies with emissions reduction targets - typically the most prominent of all sustainability goals - has increased more than nine-fold over the past five years. It maintains that large firms are primarily sticking to their guns over such commitments as they can see clear business value in them, with more than a third having intensified their targets rather than reduced them and only 16 per cent going in the other direction.

According to Forbes, if you add all of the progress from that report up, the signs are positive that the collective and global net zero ambition can still be achieved by 2050, with an estimated $75 billion having been invested over the past three years on top of all that came before.

“In Europe, we saw a multiplier effect of seven, in terms of how much private capital this could unlock,” it said.

The brighter signs have continued across corporate announcements in recent days.

Unilever, which faced criticism after adjusting some green targets last year, reported that it has reduced Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 72 per cent over the past decade, as it pursues a 100 per cent target. It also managed to ensure that 97 per cent of its sourcing of palm oil, paper and board, tea, soy and cocoa last year did not cause deforestation.

A new scheme by aircraft manufacturer Airbus will, it says, drive uptake of sustainable aviation fuel across the sector through the way it is ordered in advance,

In the tech sector, BT and Cisco announced a UK partnership that aims to reduce the environmental impact of office spaces.

A recent Guardian article outlined what daily life could be like in the UK if the country was to reach net zero emissions during the 2040s, following advice from Government advisers on lifestyle changes that will be needed. More vegetables and less meat, better public transport infrastructure, homes with heat pumps, reforestation and growth in low carbon jobs were the main headlines.

It’s not all upbeat, with the Daily Telegraph continuing to pour cold water on policies with a piece on how full electrification of fryers could “kill British chip shops”.

But despite geopolitical tangles, there is increasing evidence that companies benefitting from a sustainable transition are continuing to commit to lasting change and communicating that they’re doing so. The economic case and huge amounts of money already invested are stacking up.