SBTi Finds Only 53% of Companies Fully Report Emissions Progress

The SBTi's 2022 progress reporting review found that only 53% of companies with validated science-based targets fully disclosed progress against all their targets, despite an overall reporting rate of 76%. The initiative has announced plans to strengthen mandatory reporting requirements following the review.

Among 1,186 companies with science-based targets reviewed in 2022, 76% reported progress in some form, below the 87% rate recorded in 2020, though up from 72% in 2021. Of companies analysed, 53% fully reported on all near- and long-term targets, while 23% reported on at least one target but provided incomplete or incomparable data for others. For 24% of companies, no public progress information was found. Of 84 companies with net-zero targets validated by December 2022, 68% disclosed progress via CDP.

The reporting gap is particularly notable among financial institutions and SMEs. Of 47 financial institutions with science-based targets by end-2022, 51% reported publicly via CDP. Only 6% of the 845 SMEs included in the analysis disclosed target performance data through the CDP climate questionnaire. The SBTi attributed the increase in emissions among some companies in 2021 to post-COVID economic recovery, noting that SBTi companies' 2021 emissions remained well below 2019 levels, in contrast with global emissions which rebounded to within 1% of 2019 levels.

A typical company in the 205-company sample reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions at a linear annual rate of 5.9%, exceeding the 4.2% minimum required for 1.5 degrees Celsius alignment. To address the reporting gap, the SBTi released its Corporate Manual version 2.1 in April 2023 with enhanced reporting guidance. A Financial Sector and TCFD Reporting Guidance was also published in January 2023. The SBTi is developing a full measurement, reporting and verification framework to standardise and enforce progress disclosure.

Key figure — 5.9% average annual scope 1 and 2 reduction rate among analysed SBTi companies