The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) has published outcomes from its year-long corporate pilot program, proving that companies now have a clear and credible pathway to take ambitious action for nature.
The pilot outcomes, detailed in a report, highlight that first-mover companies are now equipped with a gold standard approach to comprehensively assess their biggest impacts on nature, measure those impacts accurately, and set science-based targets – beginning with freshwater and land. This approach enables them to address key drivers of nature loss in the ecosystems where they and their suppliers operate.
The corporate pilot program has provided significant value for companies, consultancies, NGOs and SBTN, reinforcing that SBTN is closing a critical gap in corporate sustainability.
Participating companies highlighted that setting targets helped raise corporate ambition and drive credible action for nature, including moving beyond zero deforestation to zero conversion of natural ecosystems. They view science-based targets for nature as instrumental in establishing a foundation for measurable, comparable, and standardised approaches.
SBTN’s target-setting process not only helped drive more strategic discussions around business functions at a leadership level, but also provided credibility and a common language to advance engagement with stakeholders.
The pilot successfully provided companies with a valuable test-and-learn opportunity to engage in the target-setting process in an integrated way for the first time. The majority of participating companies received validation for some or all of their targets and while some used the pilot as a chance to gain insights for future commitments, others are now preparing to publicly disclose and adopt their targets.
In response to pilot learnings, SBTN has improved its methods to address challenges with feasibility and complexity of the target validation requirements. Using these strengthened methods, over 150 additional companies – through SBTN’s Corporate Engagement Program and its service provider program -are preparing to set science-based targets for nature.
The upcoming new validation service, hosted by an Accountability Accelerator, will come online by Q4 2024, enabling a selected group of companies to ensure their targets are robust and in line with what science requires. Companies have been selected from SBTN’s recent public expression of interest for target validation services.
Looking forward, SBTN’s next generation of nature targets for 2025 will address corporate demand for implementation guidance and broader coverage of freshwater and land targets alongside additional biodiversity integration. SBTN will also deliver the first ocean targets for companies, and equip cities with initial guidance on science-based targets for nature.