Accelerated Pathways

A modular approach to target-setting

SBTN’s accelerated pathways help companies take credible action on nature faster – starting where they can act now and where it matters most for nature.

What are accelerated pathways?

Accelerated pathways offer companies a flexible, modular way to begin setting science-based targets for nature – helping companies start taking credible action faster.

Instead of requiring companies to assess their entire value chain upfront, this approach allows them to begin with a more focused scope.

This enables earlier action without compromising scientific integrity and sets a clear path to scale toward comprehensive target coverage over time.

These accelerated pathways are part of a broader set of options to help companies get started and advance through target setting.

Faster progress; same scientific rigor

Accelerated pathways help more companies get started and make progress, but the overall ambition of the SBTN approach remains the same. It’s about breaking the process down into modular, achievable units – not lowering the bar.

How do accelerated pathways work?

After completing a high-level sector screening (Step 1a), companies can choose to focus their value chain assessment (Step 1b) and subsequent target-setting steps on a more limited scope, allowing companies to focus efforts where they have the most impact:

By business unit (e.g., product line, geographic area)
By environmental realm (i.e., freshwater, land, or ocean)
By segment of the value chain (i.e., direct operations or upstream)

Companies can opt into one or multiple accelerated pathways to narrow their focus during the value chain assessment, but are encouraged to expand toward comprehensive target setting over time (across realms, value chain segments, business units). SBTN Claims guidance ensures transparency throughout that process.

The graphic below shows where companies can leverage accelerated pathways within the broader SBTN target-setting approach.

Click the dropdowns below to learn more about each of the 3 ways companies can narrow their scope using Accelerated Pathways.

Through the Business Unit Approach, companies can choose to focus on discrete parts of the business in order to more quickly set and act on targets. It is recommended when a part of the company:
- Is more advanced on sustainability than the rest
- Has more relevant data than the rest
- Has a business reason, such as operational continuity, that is more acute than for the rest
- Is more innovative than the rest and sees value in creating a proof of concept to inspire the rest of the enterprise
What you need to know:
- The business unit approach is especially relevant for large multinationals or conglomerates, and/or companies with a decentralized decision-making structure.
- Business units must be clearly defined, and correspond to existing internal operational structures such as team structures, operational practices, budget, or disclosures. They might correspond to specific geographic areas, markets, product lines, or distinct legal entities.
- Companies can opt into using this approach during Step 1b: Value Chain Assessment – Task 6: Select business units.
- The selected business unit(s) must have material impacts identified in Step 1a screening for which target-setting is relevant.
- The selected business unit will then be the focus of all subsequent steps in the target-setting process, and this focus will be reflected in the company’s claims.
Related Resources:
- Learn more about how to implement this accelerated pathway in the Step 1 & 2 Technical Guidance Updates (V1.2). These updates should be used in conjunction with Step 1 & 2 Technical Guidance V1.1.
- Read the Carrefour case study to learn how they leveraged the business unit approach.
Companies can opt to focus on one or two specific environmental realms (i.e., Land, Freshwater, or Ocean) where they have material activities, instead of all three.

What you need to know:
- This option allows companies to make progress on setting and acting on targets for the realm where they have the most data, while continuing to gather more data on the other realms.
- By focusing on a specific realm, companies only need to estimate the pressures relevant to that realm. For example, a company focusing on freshwater would only need estimates for the water use and water pollution pressures.
- This choice is available during Step 1b: Value Chain Assessment – Task 7: Map your value chain activities and locations.
- The selected realm will be the focus of all subsequent steps in the target-setting process, and this focus will be reflected in the company’s claims. However, companies that do not narrow their realm of focus during the value chain assessment will also have the opportunity to do so during Step 3: Set targets.
Related resources:
- Learn more about how to implement this accelerated pathway in the Step 1 & 2 Technical Guidance Updates (V1.2). These updates should be used in conjunction with Step 1 & 2 Technical Guidance V1.1.
Companies may be able to narrow their value chain scope to either a) direct operations or b) upstream, in order to focus on where their chosen environmental realm(s) has the greatest impact.

What you need to know:
- Eligibility to narrow the value chain segment scope will depend on the specific business unit(s) and realm(s) a company is focusing on.
- Specific eligibility criteria is outlined in the Step 1 & 2 Technical Guidance Updates (V1.2).
- Pending eligibility, companies can narrow the value chain segment scope during Step 1b: Value Chain Assessment – Task 7: Map your value chain activities and locations.
- The selected value chain segment will be the focus of all subsequent steps in the target-setting process, and this focus will be reflected in the company’s claims.
Related resources:
- Learn more about how to implement this Accelerated Pathway in the Step 1 & 2 Technical Guidance Updates (V1.2). These updates should be used in conjunction with Step 1 & 2 Technical Guidance V1.1.

Accelerated pathways are part of SBTN’s materiality assessment and prioritization updates (V1.2)

Use Step 1 & 2 V1.2 to start faster and scale credibly. Reference alongside Step 1 & 2 V1.1 for:

Feasibility: Streamlined assessment to move into target-setting faster—ambition intact through accelerated pathways
Updated science & data: Refreshed datasets and recommended tools to assess land and freshwater pressures and state of nature
Clearer guidance: Added clarity on interpreting Step 1 & 2 (V1.1), including prioritization and alignment with EUDR requirements

Resources