The Science Based Targets initiative changed the status of 239 companies last week. The dashboard you use to track your company's net-zero goals This highlights the difficulty for companies to develop strategies to achieve their goals.
Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Walmart are among the most prominent companies currently listed as 'decommitted' to net zero by the SBTi. These represent more than $4 trillion in market capitalization. Walmart, Unilever and Microsoft told GreenBiz they continue to pursue aggressive emissions reduction targets. P&G did not respond to requests for comment.
Changes result from: SBTi Policy The law went into effect in 2023, giving companies 24 months after making a „commitment“ to submit science-based targets for testing. Companies whose status changed last week had until January 31, 2024 to meet the requirements for their previously declared net zero commitments.
Many companies are having trouble meeting SBTi standards. In January, Intel told GreenBiz it declined to join SBTi This is because the standard does not allow for consideration of past reductions or emissions avoided through the use of artificial intelligence. Nvidia also doesn't follow his SBTi standards. Amazon was “decommitted” last summer.
Biggest obstacle: Scope 3
Companies appear to have the most difficulty reducing scope 3 emissions to meet SBTi targets. Scope 3 refers to indirect emissions from a company's customers and supply chain and is the most logistically difficult to mitigate.
SBTi Surveyed 971 companies Companies worth $21 trillion in market capitalization have committed to net zero between 2019 and 2021. “Nearly half of companies surveyed said Scope 3 was too difficult as a barrier to setting net-zero targets,” SBTi said. Summary of the investigation.
SBTi is Currently considering corporate net zero standardsSome of the revisions being considered relate to scope 3 target setting and measurement.
“As SBTi develops the next version of the Corporate Net Zero Standard, recognizing, learning from and addressing the obstacles experienced is the focus of this report,” the company said.
![SBTI chart](https://www.greenbiz.com/sites/default/files/2024-03/Screenshot%202024-03-13%20at%2012.24.10%E2%80%AFPM.png)
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The challenges of measuring Scope 3 were highlighted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's unrelated decision to exempt companies from liability when reporting these emissions. New rules on climate disclosure. Under this proposed obligation, publicly traded companies would only have to disclose their Scope 1 emissions (those directly emitted by the company) and Scope 2 emissions (those related to the energy they use).
Walmart, Microsoft, and Unilever respond
Walmart — Reduced supply chain emissions by more than 1 gigatonne since 2017 — was the first retailer to set science-based targets for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions seven years ago. When asked about the removal of SBTi, the company said it is finalizing its analysis of Scope 3 emissions and plans to evolve its strategy thereafter.
„This approach is science-based, aligns with the latest guidance in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, and reflects our unique position across the value chain as a global multi-category retailer,“ Walmart said in a statement. It will become something.”
Microsoft similarly reiterated its ambitions in a statement, Initiatives in 2020 For water, carbon removal, waste and ecosystem protection. „SBTi's removal of the net zero commitment from our profile has no impact on Microsoft's continued pursuit of our ambitious goals, which have not changed since we set them. „No,“ the company said. “Microsoft continues to work with SBTi to maintain SBTI-verified short-term goals in line with the Paris Agreement.”
A spokesperson said Unilever was unable to verify the initial net zero target set for 2021 because SBTi's current methodology differs from the definition of net zero used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Already submitted Latest climate transition plan subject to approval, a spokesperson said.
Unilever's plan announced last week includes an absolute reduction target of 42 per cent from raw materials, packaging, logistics, product waste and other Scope 3 activities. „We expect to receive approval from the SBTi for these targets in the near future,“ the spokesperson said. “Unilever’s priority is to reduce emissions by the same amount of carbon removal within our net zero target from 2039 onwards.”
„Delete Commitment“ can be undone
SBTi also examines short-term actions that expect companies to halve emissions by 2030. Of the 239 companies that received the net zero „decommitment“ label, 60% still set short-term targets, the group said.
SBTi was created in 2015 to lend credibility to companies' voluntary science-based emissions reduction targets, in line with the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. As of November, more than 2,000 companies are pursuing SBTi’s blessing on corporate net zero plans; Around 500 companies were 'validating' their net zero targets at the time.
The „Commitment removed“ label can be undone. “Companies are welcome and encouraged to submit targets at any time,” SBTi said in an attached document. Update published on March 7th. “After the goals are validated, companies that were listed as ‘commitment removed’ on the dashboard will be marked as ‘goal set’.”