What Is SBTi? Science Based Targets Explained

What is SBTi?

Have you come across the abbreviation SBTi in a sustainability report or a procurement requirement? You're not alone in wondering what it means. Here we go through which organizations are behind the initiative, what the process looks like, what the benefits are — and where the criticism lies.

Who is behind SBTi

SBTi was founded in 2015 by five organizations: CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the UN Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI), WWF, and the We Mean Business coalition [1]. The idea was to give companies a common way to set science-based targets — not just promises, but targets that can be calculated and compared across organizations. Today SBTi operates as a UK charity, with its subsidiary SBTi Services validating companies' climate targets for a fee [2]. The latest strategy, covering 2026–2030, places greater focus on helping companies implement their targets and actually reduce their climate impact in practice — not just set targets on paper.

What "science-based" means

The starting point is the Paris Agreement and its goal of keeping global warming well below 2 degrees, with an ambition of 1.5 [3]. Based on climate science, it's calculated how quickly global greenhouse gas emissions need to fall for that to be possible — and that trajectory is then broken down into what individual sectors and companies can reasonably contribute. A science-based target isn't just ambitious in a general sense; it's aligned with a concrete emissions-reduction pathway, in line with what climate science shows is required. This is also what distinguishes an SBTi-approved target from an ordinary, self-defined sustainability pledge — someone other than the company itself has done the math.

The SBTi process has five steps

The process is usually described in five steps [4]. Commit: the company submits a commitment letter and has 24 months to complete the rest. Develop: targets are developed according to SBTi's criteria, often including scope 3 — the entire value chain, from suppliers to how customers use the products. Submit: the targets are submitted for independent validation. Communicate: approved targets are made public. Disclose: the company reports its emissions on an ongoing basis, often via CDP. Including scope 3 can make the process demanding (unless you use automated systems like GoClimate), but it also makes it considerably more credible than many other climate pledges.

Benefits of SBTi

According to SBTi's own compilation of research on the topic, companies with approved targets report several concrete benefits [5]: independent validation of climate targets that prevents greenwashing and increases trust among customers and other stakeholders; better access to capital — nearly half report improved loan terms or credit ratings, and several European banks offer better lending terms to companies with approved climate targets; cost savings, partly through lower energy costs; and increased resilience to future regulatory requirements, which helps future-proof the business and strengthens the company's own brand reputation. Taken together, studies from several independent organizations point in the same direction: sustainable, science-based climate targets pay off commercially too, not just for the climate.

Not without criticism

In 2024, a significant debate arose over whether companies should be allowed to use carbon credits to offset parts of their scope 3 emissions, after the board issued a statement opening the door to that possibility [6]. This led parts of the staff to protest publicly [7]. Shortly afterward, then-CEO Luiz Amaral announced he would be stepping down — officially for personal reasons [8], but the timing led many in the industry to connect the two events. David Kennedy was appointed as the new CEO in January 2025 and formally took up the role at the end of March that year [9]. That kind of open debate is healthier than silence, but it's a reminder that an SBTi stamp is no guarantee in itself.

Why it matters

For your company, SBTi is about credibility. As more customers, investors, and other companies demand approved climate targets, SBTi is increasingly becoming part of the playing field rather than an exception reserved for the largest companies — and more and more small and medium-sized sustainable companies are joining every year to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and climate impact.

It all starts with measuring. With GoClimate, you connect your accounting system and get your scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions calculated automatically — the foundation for setting climate targets that hold up. Get started here.