SBTi Finds 84 Percent of Business Ambition Campaign Companies Set Climate Targets

The Science Based Targets initiative published its final evaluation of the Business Ambition for 1.5 degrees Celsius campaign on 7 March 2024, finding that 84 percent of participating companies set a science-based target. The campaign, which ran from June 2019 to October 2021, enrolled 1,045 companies, of which 971 were analysed for the report.

Of the 971 companies analysed, 239 had their net-zero commitments removed on 7 March 2024, the same date the report was published. Sixty percent of those companies with removed commitments had previously set near-term targets. Companies excluded from the analysis included those that underwent mergers or acquisitions during the campaign period and those pending updated sector-specific guidance, notably financial institutions. The removal of commitments reflects the SBTi's enforcement of its standards when companies fail to meet net-zero target-setting requirements within the required timeframe.

Scope 3 complexity emerged as the primary barrier to net-zero target setting in survey feedback from campaign participants. Around half of companies that responded cited scope 3 as too challenging a reason for not setting net-zero targets, reinforcing the priority the SBTi has placed on improving scope 3 target-setting frameworks in its Corporate Net-Zero Standard revision. The evaluation findings directly inform the SBTi's future standard-setter and validation service strategy by identifying where companies face the most persistent implementation barriers.

The Business Ambition for 1.5 degrees Celsius campaign was a joint initiative that aimed to mobilise large companies to commit to science-based targets. The evaluation report distils learnings on target-setting uptake rates, sector distribution of participation, barriers to net-zero commitment and the correlation between near-term targets and longer-term net-zero goal setting. The findings are intended to support the SBTi as it scales validation services and refines its standard-setting approach ahead of the major Corporate Net-Zero Standard revision currently underway.

Key figure — 239 net-zero commitments removed on 7 March 2024; 60% of those had near-term targets set