Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly defined pathway for sustainable growth (as identified by them) by specifying how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and the WWF. The initiative’s overall aim is that this year, science-based target setting will become standard business practice.
Many companies have the skills and resources to meet the Paris targets but need some of the steps in between to make it a reality. SBTi set emissions reduction targets that ensure the action they take is aligned with current climate science.
Targets adopted by companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered “science-based” if they are in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – to limit global warming to well-below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.
It’s also a good little indication of which companies are making the effort (there are a number of different initiatives across the world; this is one).