SBTi Partners with CAFA to Embed Science-Based Targets in Trade Associations

The Science Based Targets initiative and Climate Action for Associations have announced a partnership to advance science-based target adoption through the global trade association sector. The collaboration will deliver outreach, engagement, and education programmes designed to equip industry associations with tools to drive emissions reductions across their member organisations.

SBTi and CAFA announced their partnership in March 2025, aiming to leverage SBTi's expertise in science-based climate target-setting alongside CAFA's international associations network. Under the agreement, SBTi will provide educational materials on standards, tools, and guidance for science-based targets, while CAFA will incorporate targets into its programmes and conduct meetings, workshops, and webinars focused on sectors including Buildings, Steel, and Concrete. CAFA will also feed association feedback back to SBTi to ensure the target-setting process remains accessible and realistic for trade association members.

Trade associations occupy a strategic position in industry transformation: they aggregate the views of member companies, engage with public sector actors, and shape sector-level standards and policies. By targeting associations as an entry point, SBTi and CAFA aim to generate multiplier effects—each association that adopts science-based target guidance can propagate that knowledge across dozens or hundreds of member companies. In industries such as steel and construction, where India is a major global producer, association-level climate commitments could accelerate supply chain decarbonisation at scale.

SBTi Chief Impact Officer Tracy Wyman noted that industry associations are uniquely placed to drive change across entire industries and that the partnership marks a significant step toward normalising science-based corporate climate action. CAFA Founder and CEO Alison Heppenstall said the collaboration will scale CAFA's impact by ensuring associations provide members with access to the latest guidance on setting and achieving emissions reduction targets. The partnership is expected to broaden the pipeline of companies engaging with SBTi standards through association-level endorsement.

Key figure — 3 priority sectors: Buildings, Steel, and Concrete