Companies, including Nike and Thyssenkrupp, with more than the combined annual emissions of France and Spain have now set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets in line with what science says is required to avert dangerous climate change and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.

A report, Raising the Bar: Exploring the Science Based Target initiative’s progress in driving ambitious climate action, by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) reveals that by meeting their targets, 285 companies will reduce 265 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent (approximately equivalent to shutting down 68 coal-fired power plants) - an average annual reduction of 35 per cent compared to base year emissions. In addition, 76 of these companies’ goals in line with limiting warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

“These companies are at the vanguard in the fight against climate change. They are proof that acting on climate science goes hand-in-hand with a successful business and economy,” said Alexander Farsan, global lead for science-based targets at WWF, one of the SBTi partners. “Every company in every sector must step up and reduce their emissions in line with what science says is needed, or risk being left behind in a changing world.”

The report also finds that science-based targets are becoming standard business practice in some geographies and sectors. More than 20 per cent of high-impact companies in the following sectors have set science-based targets: apparel, biotechnology, food and beverage, healthcare, hospitality, information technology, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The initiative uses the latest available climate science to define best practice in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assesses companies’ targets against its validation criteria.

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