SBTi Reports 87% Rise in Validated Corporate Climate Targets in 2022

The Science Based Targets initiative validated 1,097 new companies in 2022, an 87% increase on 2021, with Japan leading by country and China recording 194% growth. Companies with science-based targets represented 34% of the global economy by market capitalisation by the end of 2022.

The SBTi Monitoring Report 2022 showed the number of companies validated in that year exceeded the cumulative total from the initiative's entire previous seven years combined (1,082). Japan had more companies setting targets than any other country, with companies representing 40% of the NIKKEI index having set targets by year-end. Asia overall recorded 127% growth in SBTi-validated targets. China's 194% growth rate was the steepest of any market. The SBTi transitioned to accepting only 1.5C-aligned targets from July 2022, marking a meaningful increase in corporate ambition.

By market capitalisation, companies representing more than a third of the global economy (34%) had set or committed to setting science-based targets by end of 2022. Among listed indices, 69% of FTSE companies and 42% of S&P companies had set targets. The materials industry saw the greatest sector-level growth at 160%, while services, manufacturing and infrastructure together represented more than 60% of companies with targets. The slowest growth sectors were power generation, biotech and healthcare, and hospitality.

In 2022, the SBTi made key governance appointments including its first CEO Luiz Amaral, a Chief Impact Officer and a Compliance Director. Plans to appoint an independent Technical Council were shared, with the council formally unveiled in March 2023 and its first meeting held in July 2023. A full governance update was signalled for September 2023. SBTi CEO Luiz Amaral cited catastrophic floods in Pakistan and deadly European heatwaves as evidence of the urgency facing companies that had not yet committed to reducing emissions.

Key figure — 34% of the global economy by market capitalisation had set or committed to science-based targets by end of 2022