Climate change is a real, material challenge for business. The world’s leading climate scientists and governments agree that it is essential to limit the increase in global average temperature to below 2°C and ideally bellow 1,5°C. Science-based targets allow companies to work toward this goal by aligning corporate GHG reductions with global emissions budgets generated by climate models.

What are the benefits?

Science-based target setting can spur ambition and generate the innovations needed to transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy. This type of innovation can redefine companies’ bottom lines by creating new business models and sources of value, and by disrupting currently unsustainable economic systems.

Setting these targets in advance of carbon-related regulations will allow companies to be well equipped to respond to regulatory and policy changes.

Companies can demonstrate their robust commitments to reduce emissions and help mitigate global warming to investors and clients.

What is expected of companies that make this commitment?

By making this commitment, companies will be agreeing to set a science-based target that is in line with the Science-Based Targets Initiative’s Call to Action criteria:

1. Boundary: The target must cover company-wide Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and all relevant GHGs as required in the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
2. Timeframe: The target must cover a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 15 years from the date of announcement of the target.
3. Level of ambition: At a minimum, the target will be consistent with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial temperatures.
4. Scope 3: Companies should complete a Scope 3 screening before setting their GHG emission reduction targets covering all relevant scope 3 categories as defined by the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard. An ambitious and measureable Scope 3 target with a clear time-frame is also required when Scope 3 emissions cover a significant portion (greater than 40% of total scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions) of a company’s overall emissions. The target boundary must include the majority of value chain emissions (e.g. top 3 categories, or 2/3 of total scope 3 emissions).
5. Reporting: The company will disclose company-wide GHG emissions inventory on an annual basis.

Companies wishing to make this commitment are asked to follow the steps outlined below:

1. Submit a commitment letter, indicating that your company is committed to setting a science-based target. You will then have up to 24 months to develop your targets.
2. Once your targets have been developed, submit the targets for a formal verification against the Call to Action eligibility criteria (outlined above).