SBTi Launches Steel Guidance and Technical Council in 2023

The Science Based Targets initiative reached several governance and sectoral milestones in 2023, including the launch of its first independent Technical Council and the publication of its inaugural Steel Guidance. The steel sector accounts for up to 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making science-based decarbonisation targets for the industry a critical lever.

In June 2023, the SBTi convened the first meeting of its independent Technical Council, which oversees technical decision-making and approves normative documents, with minutes published publicly. Earlier in the year, a Compliance Director joined from an independent third-party standards certification body to head a new compliance department. In April, the SBTi published its Interim 1.5 degrees Celsius Aviation Pathway, providing a short-term route for aviation companies to set science-based net-zero targets.

The Steel Guidance, published in September 2023, provides the first science-based decarbonisation target framework for the steel industry. Steel is foundational to manufacturing, construction, infrastructure and renewable energy technologies including solar panels and wind turbines, making its decarbonisation essential to achieving net-zero across multiple sectors. For India, the world's second-largest steel producer, the guidance has direct implications for companies aligned with national green steel initiatives.

A commitment compliance policy change in July 2023 motivated companies to accelerate target submissions: under the policy, companies that fail to validate targets within two years of committing have their commitment marked as removed on the SBTi database. The combination of governance reforms, new sector guidance and compliance enforcement signals a maturation of the SBTi into a formal standard-setting institution with accountability mechanisms that parallel financial and accounting regulators.

Key figure — 9% of global emissions attributed to the steel sector