Regulatory uncertainly is the primary reason many Canadian companies are sluggish in developing strategies to deal with climate change, according to a survey released on Monday by Deloitte.

Although 43% of companies surveyed for Managing greenhouse gas emissions consider regulatory uncertainty the significant barrier, only 20% cite cost concerns.

Deloitte’s second annual survey of Canadian greenhouse gas emitters shows that 94% of respondents have a general awareness of GHG issues, but only 18% have executive-level employees working on the problem.

“While it’s encouraging that the issue of climate change and sustainability is a least on the executive radar screen, the current low level of executive engagement is worrisome,” said Valerie Chort, national leader of corporate responsibility and sustainability services at Deloitte in a release.

Half of the companies surveyed assign GHG policy development to mid-tier management. “To have an impact, climate change and sustainability must be designated as governance and strategic issues requiring CEO commitment and board-level attention,” said Chort.

Three-quarters of companies have done an inventory of emissions and more than half (55%) of companies released information about how their emissions management programs are faring. But only 28% feel their company’s general business strategy have been effectively combined.

More than half of companies (56%) see climate change as an opportunity on the whole in terms of energy cost-savings, emissions trading and new technologies. Tax incentives, energy efficiency standards, emissions limits and emissions trading with intensity-based caps were cited as the favored public policy tools that governments could use to help companies along.