Initial resources for companies to implement their science-based targets for nature for nature (Step 4: Act) are available on SBTN’s website here. These include a range of initial response options across the SBTN Action Framework – from avoidance and reduction to regeneration and restoration. These options complement and build on actions that the company may already be taking to progress towards the achievement of science-based targets for nature for nature. 

Additional Step 4: Act resources, available later in 2025, will include holistic implementation guidance for companies that have set science-based targets for nature for nature. It encourages companies to “zoom out” and to think about their approaches to delivering science-based targets for nature as a whole, identifying efficient and equitable ways to achieve targets and positive outcomes for nature. 

For example, a company may have set freshwater quantity and land targets in the same location with existing agricultural activities. SBTN encourages this company and others like it to consider implementing actions that concretely result in progress toward multiple targets simultaneously. That might include implementing practices like reduced tilling that can increase the efficiency of irrigation, reducing water use and increasing soil health and ecosystem functioning.

The resources will include two categories: technical content and safeguards. The technical content will include response options that are supported by scientific evidence. It will also include guidance and learning resources for companies on how to implement response options and other innovations in order to achieve science-based targets for nature for nature. 

The response options provided by SBTN are not intended to be comprehensive. Rather they will provide a basis for companies to design response options and action plans tailored to the social and ecological context of a given science-based target. They are intended to complement, not replace, other implementation initiatives, guidance and tools on nature already being used.

In addition to the technical content, the resources will identify what safeguards are needed to protect biodiversity, nature more broadly, and outcomes for Indigenous and local peoples. These safeguards will provide parameters for the response options and action plan design process.

Step 4: Act guidance is built on the SBTN Action Framework, AR3T. The AR3T framework includes Avoid, Reduce, Regenerate, Restore and finally Transform. This builds on the conservation mitigation hierarchy, with the addition of system transformation. More about the AR3T framework can be found on the Step 4 section of the SBTN website.

The order of the mitigation framework is intended to emphasize the importance of starting with actions to avoid and reduce impacts. However, science-based targets for nature for nature emphasize actions across the mitigation hierarchy which also include regenerating, restoring and transforming actions. 

For example, the freshwater quality and quantity targets emphasize actions to directly reduce company pressures of water use and nutrient pollution, but targets can also be achieved through engagement in more indirect measures like wetland restoration within the basin. In this case, the actions of restoration and regeneration, which a company may already be undertaking, can contribute to target achievement through supplying and replenishment of surface and groundwater as well as nutrient capture and storage to prevent runoff.

science-based targets for nature for land also incentivize actions across the mitigation hierarchy. No Conversion and Land Footprint targets emphasize avoidance and reduction of impacts while Landscape Engagement targets emphasize Regeneration, Restoration and system Transformation.

SBTN will provide further details on Transform actions and how they may contribute to achievement of entity level targets and safeguards. This will include consideration of collective action at a basin, landscape and seascape scale.

Note: While Step 4: Act does not explicitly address Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) (which is the focus of Step 5: Track), we encourage companies to collect primary baseline data for target-setting sites regardless of where you may be in the SBTN process. Establishing strong, relevant ecological baseline data will enable stronger evidence of the impact of response options down the line. 

Alignment between the Step 4: Act technical content, safeguards and resources and the wider landscape of business activity and resources relating to nature is critical. We are currently considering how to clarify the linkages between Step 4: Act and transition planning resources as well as undertaking assessments of interoperability with the wider sustainability reporting landscape. SBTN recognizes the particular importance of aligning SBTN and TNFD approaches in this regard. We plan to work together closely in areas such as method development, piloting, and capacity building and anticipate future Step 4: Act resources will contain a narrative description of the relationships between these frameworks.

SBTN’s response options will explicitly target synergies (and mitigate tradeoffs) between climate and other nature outcomes. They will therefore enable companies to address their climate impacts and achieve climate targets set via SBTi mechanisms. 

SBTN encourages collective action and precompetitive sharing among corporate actors. Landscape level approaches are embedded throughout the target-setting process with targets being set at a basin, landscape, and seascape level. This requires coordination and collaboration across multiple stakeholder communities.

Step 4: Act resources will continue to emphasize the importance of collective action. SBTN is currently investigating a range of potential mechanisms for enabling this, including resources for allocating impacts associated with collective implementation of response options in shared landscapes.

This is still a topic under discussion internally. The criteria for validation, if any, will be lightweight and aligned with existing frameworks and best practice in corporate sustainability, and the process would be designed to ensure any criteria do not penalise early adopters. We anticipate opportunities for feedback on this across SBTN’s stakeholder groups including the Corporate Engagement Program.

We anticipate that Step 4:Act content, by both design and necessity, will be less prescriptive than previous steps in order to leave room for the development of new approaches and innovations. 

Note: While the Accountability Accelerator’s validation process does currently ask questions about how a company envisions achieving its targets, these are intended for their internal learning processes. They are not intended to assess and validate company action plans and are not indicative of future Step 4: Act validation requirements.