The SBTi's fourth report examining progress globally reports that more companies have set targets in 2022 than the entire seven years prior.

Japan had the highest number of companies setting targets in 2022 (201), followed by the UK (181) and the US (109).

Overall, there was an 87 per cent increase in companies having their targets validated (1,097), more than the entire previous seven years combined (1,082).

Companies representing more than a third of the global economy (34 per cent) by market capitalisation had set or committed to setting science-based targets by the end of 2022, with FTSE companies doubling this figure at 69 per cent.

Speaking about the SBTi Monitoring Report, the SBTi’s CEO Luiz Amaral said: “This annual update from the SBTi shows the enormous demand from the business world for credible, ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As catastrophic floods in Pakistan to deadly heatwaves in Europe in 2022 demonstrated, the human and economic costs of climate change are already being felt around the world. Companies must act now.”

The materials industry experienced the greatest growth with a 160 per cent increase in the number of companies setting targets. The top three represented sectors were services, manufacturing and infrastructure, representing more than 60 per cent of companies setting targets.

The three slowest growth sectors were power generation; biotech, healthcare and pharma; and hospitality.

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