What is the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)?

Carbon accounting and sustainability are growing in popularity in the midst of global warming, and therefore – it's important that companies figure out how to set science based targets to achieve their emission reduction targets accordingly with accuracy, and that's where the science-based targets initiative, or SBTi comes into play.

👉 What is the SBTi initiative, and is science based target setting successful in helping companies to reduce their carbon footprint and fight against a drastic global temperature rise?

The Science-Based Targets Initiative started back in 2014 with nothing more than a desire to motivate others to mitigate climate change through the help of science. Intrinsic desire to set emission reduction targets is key to following through with emission reduction goals, but science is the part of the equation that helps companies make educated decisions and implement successful actions that will lead to their climate change goals. 

In less than a decade, SBTi has gone from a concept to a sought-after global program – acquiring more than 3,000 companies to partake in the SBTi program, including 1,000 additional commitments to the net-zero movement. 

The Science-Based Targets Initiative now has the ability to set new goals in place with the help of climate science following their unprecedented growth – such as advocating for net-zero and making science-based targets the new normal for companies around the world. 

👉 The SBTi is partnered with several other programs of global coalition, such as the CDP, United Nations Global Compact, and the World Resources Institute. 

The SBTi thrives on utilizing scientific data to demonstrate the dire need for companies around the world to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and fight against climate change. In other words, the SBTi strives to be a mentor to organizations around the globe through the use of their scientific discoveries to create personalized plans for companies to reduce their environmental impact and transition to a world where net-zero will be the new normal. 

Ultimately, the SBTi serves as a call to climate action to encourage business ambition and raise awareness on the catastrophic impacts of GHG emissions. The SBTi approves companies targets and can help other industry leaders create the best practice for their company with targets in line with the Paris Agreement.

The main goal of the SBTi is to help businesses around the world reduce their emissions through the collection and evaluation of scientific data, and to promote the idea that emissions can be reduced most successfully with the help of science.

However, the SBTi has several other goals in mind – such as cultivating an experienced team of experts to harvest new scientific data on a constant basis, provide updated targets as often as possible in conjunction with these new scientific findings, and be a leader in the movement to ensure the globe does not surpass a global surface temperature of 1.5°C. 

Applying to partake in the Science-Based Targets Initiative works in a five step process. 

1. Commit

First, a business or company seeking to reduce their emissions through the SBTi should write and send a letter illustrating their commitment to using science-based targets to improve their carbon footprint. This step isn't necessary if the company is a small or medium sized enterprise, or any company with less than five hundred employees. 

A company can register online to send their letter of commitment. Advocating and delineating their commitment to other imperative climate change movements, like net-zero emissions, can help a company be accepted to the SBTi. 

While your company waits to be accepted by the SBTi, development for a new emissions reduction plan should be made in accordance with the science based criteria provided by the SBTi.

2. Develop

All companies should develop new emission reduction plans in line with the science based criteria that is available on the Science-Based Targets Initiative website. The SBTi offers personalized assistance to help all companies achieve their environmental goals, as it is imperative that individual businesses strive to meet the requirements provided by their sector.

Companies have two years to submit their targets in line with the SBTi after signing their letter of intent. 

3. Submit

After developing their targets, companies should apply for their new plans to be validated. The SBTi motivates all applying for approval to review the resources provided by the SBTi prudently to avoid any potential delays in approval. 

In fact, the Science-Based Targets Initiative offers a wide range of documents and services to ensure that your validation process goes smoothly. These include the opportunity to submit a second validation if the first one is not approved, new validation submissions if the new goals are updated to meet the expectations of the SBTi, submissions for financial institutions, and submissions based around achieving net-zero emissions, working towards emissions representative of pre-industrial levels, or various emissions reduction targets. 

Once a company has submitted their new targets to the SBTi, a team of specialists review the submission to ensure the goals are in line with the science-based criteria of the Science-Based-Targets Initiative. Regardless if the response is an acceptance or rejection, the SBTi team will provide in-depth feedback following submission of approval.  

4. Communicate

Accountability is one of the most imperative components of achieving any goal. Therefore, it is crucial that companies then share their new environmental goals based on the scientific criteria provided by the SBTi with both consumers and stakeholders immediately. 

If the new targets are approved by the SBTi, they will be published on the Science-Based Targets Intiative's official website, as well as on all of their partner pages for maximum visibility and accountability. However, this can only be done if a company ensures that their targets are announced to the public within the first six months following the initial approval. If a company doesn't make their targets known, then the SBTi will have to review them again. 

5. Disclose

All companies that are approved by the SBTi are required to delineate their progress to the public. The initial targets should be monitored and reviewed annually at minimum to ensure continuous improvement. Assistance on how to report these targets can include providing the public with annual sustainability reports or sharing the progress on your company's website. 

The overarching benefit to applying to be a part of the SBTi is to have constant access to the latest science-based data that can allow a company to set emissions based on tangible, numerical evidence. 

However, it is becoming clear that there are more benefits to using science-based targets than just improving environmental circumstances.

As sustainability grows in popularity, companies partaking in initiatives like the SBTi will continue to grow more valuable – as companies that strive to reduce carbon emissions using science can clearly delineate their urgent call and crucial role in their commitment in the fight against climate change.

Joining the Science Based Targets Initiative, SBTi, allows for new business opportunities, as investors are beginning to use sustainability and environmental efforts as a prerequisite to investing in any company. While satisfied customers are compulsory for consistent revenue, a business cannot grow without the help of investors – which adds financial value to companies that decide to apply to the SBTi. 

In any business, staying ahead of the game is essential to success – and by joining the SBTi, a company can be sure that they stay up-to-date with the latest regulations implemented to reduce emissions. This will become pivotal, as the U.S. gets more serious about climate change. Instead of scrambling to adjust business practices to adhere to new environmental regulations, companies a part of the SBTi will always be one step ahead. 

Those who join the Science-Based Targets Initiative may also notice that their company will save money in places they didn't expect to – as tailoring business models to reduce emissions can usually increase efficiency, seek the use of renewable energy, which ultimately reduce business costs. 

Perhaps the most exhilarating benefit of joining the SBTi is the opportunity for innovation. Establishing emission reduction tactics through the use of scientific data requires creativity on a new level – and inventiveness can provoke novel ideas and business tactics that a company may not have thought of otherwise if they weren't reducing emissions through the SBTi. 

Clearly, there are only good things to come for those who choose to apply for the Science-Based Targets Initiative – but what and who else does the SBTi strive to help? 

The SBTi doesn't want to just help businesses reduce their emissions, but the SBTi strives to bring awareness to other movements that will help improve global emissions – one of the biggest ones being the initiative to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. 

In fact, the SBTi has started the first global standard to provide companies around the world with a comprehensive guide on how to achieve net-zero emissions, called the Corporate Net-Zero Standard. 

The Science-Based Targets Initiative values their collaborations, as they believe that governments and businesses must work together in order to achieve their respective goals. This is because while a business may want to implement certain tactics to reduce emissions, it could very well be that a local government doesn't permit a business to take those actions without further approval. In short, the SBTi believes that decarbonization is more likely when various sectors work together harmoniously. 

The SBTi recognizes that they aren't the only global influence that can help to spread the importance of decarbonization around the world. Therefore, the SBTi takes pride in their partnerships with the UNGC, the WWF Climate Business Network, and many other organizations dedicated to raising awareness regarding climate change. 

Given the SBTi started only eight years ago, it has been extremely successful – even separate from its short existence. For instance, last calendar year – the SBTi experienced a time of incredible growth and motivated other corporations to take part in their global decarbonization movement, which resulted in them recruiting twice the amount of companies committing to their scientific based targets than usual. 

This means that over one hundred new companies were applying to partake in the SBTi monthly. While the SBTi recognizes this amazing accomplishment – they want to do even more, by encouraging all the companies currently enrolled with the SBTi to encourage their associated companies to join the SBTi as well. 

If you're looking for an accreditation to demonstrate your company's commitment to decreasing carbon emissions, as well as open several other doors that could result in multi various benefits for your business – the Science-Based Targets Initiative may be the stepping stone to your company going both green, and big. 

Objectives aligned with the 2°C trajectory

Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the signatory parties have proposed climate commitments that remain insufficient. A United Nations report published in 2022 indicated that current climate plans would put the world on a trajectory towards a world 2.5°C warmer by the end of the century – compared to the required 2°C.

👉 Current commitments will lead to a 10.6% increase in emissions by 2030 compared to 2010 levels.

Until recently, although they were already taking inventory of their GHG emissions with a carbon assessment – many companies did not set a reduction target in-line with scientific knowledge. After committing to the SBTi initiative, they were able to define their objectives aligned with the 2°C trajectory – which would ideally be garnered towards 1.5°C.

3,849 of the 6,645 companies committed to defining a science-based emission reduction target had their targets reviewed and validated by the SBTi. 

👉 Maintaining the global average temperature below 2°C would be possible if all companies employed a common method to define their carbon strategies.

A few examples of objectives set by Sbti-committed companies

Any company, regardless of its size, sector of activity, and location – is encouraged to join the SBTi. This is already the case for many companies that have ambitious carbon strategies consistent with scientific recommendations.

Some examples of objectives validated by the SBTi:

• Bonduelle commits by 2035 to reduce its GHG emissions (scopes 1 and 2) by 68% compared to 2020; 
• Auchan commits, among other initiatives, to increasing its annual renewable electricity supply from 14.7% in 2019 to 100% by 2030; 
• Carrefour specifically commits to reducing its scope 3 emissions related to purchased goods and services and the use of sold products by 29% by 2030 compared to the reference year 2019; 
• Danone has set a target of no deforestation by 2025 for all its main deforestation-related base products.

👉 Good to know: since July 2022, the SBTi only accepts files aligned with the 1.5°C trajectory.

Close monitoring of results

With the aim of creating an ambitious and collective climate action, the SBTi closely monitors the commitment of member companies. That's why it publishes its annual progress report every year, presenting the evolution of member organizations’ climate commitments.

👉 In 2022, the objectives set by SBTi companies were expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 76 million tons.

To track the progress of its members, the SBTi has created a dashboard updated every Thursday. Available to the public, it indicates:

• the status of the company (after committing to the SBTi, it has a 24-month deadline to specify its objectives based on SBTi criteria); 
• short and long-term goals of companies and financial institutions - set respectively for the next 5 to 10 years and for 2050; 
• temperature alignment - i.e., the degree of global temperature increase to which the company aligns its objectives (1.5°C, well below 2°C, or 2°C); 
• information about the organization (sector of activity, type of structure, implementation locations, etc.)
• the reference date, the target year, and the publication date of the objectives. 

Good news: an increasing number of companies are committing to reducing emissions (in 2022, 58% of global organizations that set SBTi targets were SMEs). 

Visible benefits within companies

Companies that have joined the SBTi initiative are already noticing significant benefits.

The example of Kellogg's is a testament to this. To encourage targeted emission reductions, fuel cells generating electricity have been installed at the San Jose waffle factory in the United States. This arrangement has enabled:

• Stimulating innovation among teams responsible for sustainable development;
• Encouraging managers - working along the entire value chain - to explore ways to reduce emissions that go beyond the usual framework. As a result of following their commitment to the SBTi, Dell... following its commitment to the SBTi, Dell has noticed an improvement in its relationships with legislators and governments.

If reading this article about the Science-Based Targets Initiative in the U.S. has made you interested in reducing your carbon emission to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!

Greenly can help you make an environmental change for the better, starting with a carbon footprint assessment to know how much carbon emissions your company produces.

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