Science Based Targets (SBTi): a guide for businesses
Direct answer
Science Based Targets are CO2 reduction goals aligned with what climate science requires to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) reviews and validates such corporate goals against fixed criteria. This shows that a target is not only ambitious in wording, but genuinely follows a scientifically grounded pathway.
- Clear definition
- Data-driven assessment
- Risks and opportunities visible
- Practical next steps
Science Based Targets (SBTi): scattered information versus Energy Intelligence
More and more companies promise climate action, but a standalone pledge says little about real ambition. Customers, investors and regulators want to know whether a target is truly enough. A buyer mapping their own value chain emissions, for example, runs into the question of whether suppliers hold a validated target. Science Based Targets give a testable answer to that. They translate the global climate goal into a reduction pathway that fits your company, and the SBTi checks whether that pathway holds up.
- A target is called science-based if it is derived from climate science; the SBTi checks this independently and only validates it once it meets the criteria.
- There are two main forms: near-term targets for the coming years and a long-term net-zero target, where the net-zero target always requires a near-term target.
- Reduction within a company's own value chain comes first; offsetting emissions with credits does not replace that reduction.
Insight
Traditional approach
Information is scattered across portals, documents, invoices or separate spreadsheets.
Modern approach
Data, context and interpretation are brought together into a clear decision picture.
Decision-making
Traditional approach
Choices are made based on averages, assumptions or occasional analyses.
Modern approach
Scenarios, KPIs and current measurement data make the trade-off more concrete and repeatable.
Follow-up
Traditional approach
Actions often stay non-committal or disappear into separate reports.
Modern approach
Follow-up actions, monitoring and reporting are linked to the same energy data.
What are Science Based Targets and what does the SBTi do?
A science-based target is a reduction goal derived from climate science, aimed at limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. The Science Based Targets initiative is the organization that assesses such goals. The SBTi began as a collaboration between CDP, the UN Global Compact, the We Mean Business Coalition, the World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Companies submit their target, after which the SBTi tests it against fixed criteria and only validates it once it complies. For measuring emissions, the whole system relies on the GHG Protocol, which distinguishes between direct emissions, emissions from purchased energy and value chain emissions. The criteria are revised periodically as the science advances.
- Science-based means: derived from climate science, aimed at a maximum of 1.5 degrees of warming.
- The SBTi tests and validates targets; it does not set your business strategy for you.
- Emissions are measured under the GHG Protocol, in direct, energy and value chain emissions.
- The SBTi updates its standards and criteria periodically.
Near-term, net-zero and the role of offsetting
The SBTi recognizes two main types of target. A near-term target sets out how much you reduce emissions over the coming years and drives short-term action. A net-zero target describes where you end up in the long run, under the Corporate Net-Zero Standard. A net-zero target never stands alone: it always requires a near-term target aligned with a 1.5 degree pathway. The core is that the large majority of emissions in your own value chain genuinely fall. Whatever unavoidably remains at the end may be neutralized with high-quality removals. Offsetting outside the value chain is therefore an addition, not a replacement for real reduction.
- Near-term target: reduction for the coming years, as the engine for fast action.
- Net-zero target: the long-term picture under the Corporate Net-Zero Standard.
- A net-zero target always requires an accompanying near-term target.
- Reduction within your own value chain comes first; only unavoidable residual emissions are neutralized.
Why companies use it and where the limits lie
Companies choose Science Based Targets because a validated goal is more credible than a self-devised pledge. The independent check gives customers, investors and financiers confidence that the target is serious. On top of that, large buyers and investors increasingly ask for one, so a validated target counts in tenders and across the value chain. There are limits too. The SBTi validates the target, but not whether you actually reach it; you report on progress yourself, annually. The process demands reliable emissions data and effort, certainly for the often large value chain emissions. And because the standards move with the science, a target may later require a revision or recalculation.
- A validated target is more credible than a self-devised pledge and builds trust.
- Buyers, investors and financiers increasingly ask for one across the value chain.
- The SBTi validates the target, not whether you reach it; you report on progress yourself.
- Reliable emissions data are needed, and standards may be revised over time.
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