You don’t need perfect data or full supply chain traceability to begin. Many companies have started with existing information, used available data and transparent assumptions, and improved their understanding over time.

Start by reviewing the information and initiatives you already have in place. This might include existing nature assessments, climate targets through SBTi, nature-related risk assessments using TNFD, CDP disclosures, supplier data or certification programs. SBTN’s High Impact Commodity List can also provide a useful starting point for understanding where significant nature-related impacts may occur in your value chain.

SBTN’s methods can help you build on this existing work, identify where data gaps matter most and prioritize improvements as you progress.

You don’t need to tackle every nature-related issue at once. SBTN’s methods help companies identify and prioritize their most significant impacts, focus resources where they matter most and build toward more comprehensive action over time.

Explore SBTN’s Accelerated Pathways, which allow eligible companies to focus initial efforts on specific business units, environmental realms (freshwater, land or ocean), or segments of their value chain, following an initial materiality screening. This provides a more manageable way to begin, achieve validated milestones and expand the scope of target-setting over time, while maintaining scientific rigor and transparency about what has been assessed and validated.

Strong leadership support and clear internal ownership are essential. Make the business case by demonstrating how science-based targets can help your company make better decisions, focus resources, manage nature-related risks and strengthen long-term resilience. Use SBTN’s Business Case for Science-Based Targets report to help communicate the value of target-setting to senior leaders and build internal buy-in.

Establish a project lead and engage relevant teams early, including sustainability, procurement, sourcing, finance, operations, business development, R&D, compliance and data teams. Ensure clear communication, agreement on responsibilities and coordination of the processes needed for target-setting. For example, working closely with procurement teams to gather upstream supply chain data can be particularly important for companies with complex value chains.

Much of the information needed may already exist across your organization but sit in different departments and systems. Cross-functional collaboration can help bring this information together and integrate nature into business decision-making. Involve local offices where relevant, given the place-based nature of science-based targets and the need for local stakeholder engagement.

If you are developing or updating your nature strategy, the Nature Strategy Handbook from Business for Nature provides useful guidance.

For companies with significant upstream impacts, supplier engagement is often essential to improving data, understanding impacts and translating targets into action.

Start conversations early to understand what information suppliers already have and where gaps remain. Rather than approaching suppliers solely with data requests or target requirements, focus on shared risks, resilience, transparency and opportunities for practical collaboration.

Building trust and stronger supplier relationships can help improve traceability, support implementation and strengthen supply chain resilience over time.

Setting science-based targets brings together information from different sources, systems and locations. Companies have found that the challenge is often not simply collecting more data, but bringing together information that already exists across teams and systems and turning it into useful insights.

Identify the capabilities needed to access, integrate, analyze and interpret environmental data. Having someone who can bring together fragmented information and make sense of it can be particularly valuable. Depending on your scope and internal resources, you may also need specialist expertise in life cycle assessment, environmental footprinting and spatial analysis.

Strong collaboration between sustainability, data and operational teams is equally important. Helping colleagues understand why information such as supplier origins and locations matters can improve data quality and strengthen your organization’s capabilities beyond target-setting.

Not all capabilities need to be developed in-house. External experts can provide targeted technical support, particularly for smaller teams or companies with complex value chains. Explore SBTN’s list of expert advisors for additional support.

Setting science-based targets requires dedicated time, coordination and clear ownership. The main investment reported by companies is often internal effort, particularly bringing together data and coordinating across departments and suppliers.

Set a realistic budget and timeline based on your company’s scope, readiness, data maturity and internal capacity. Experiences vary, but indicative timeframes for applying SBTN’s methods include:

• Steps 1 and 2 — Assess and Prioritize: A minimum of approximately three months.
• Step 3 — Set Targets: Approximately one to three months.
• Independent validation: Typically three to four months from submission to validation.

Allow time for preparing documentation, clarifying assumptions and responding to questions during validation. Independent validation is an important part of ensuring that targets meet SBTN’s scientific criteria and that companies can communicate their progress credibly.

SBTN’s required methods and tools are freely available, although external technical support, additional tools and independent validation may involve costs. See the Accountability Accelerator for current validation information.

Science-based targets for nature are grounded in the ecological conditions of specific places. Engaging relevant local stakeholders helps companies understand local contexts, identify appropriate actions and ensure their approach considers affected communities and other stakeholders.

Plan for meaningful engagement as you develop, implement and monitor targets. This may include working with local teams, communities, suppliers, other businesses and organizations operating in priority landscapes or basins.

See SBTN’s Stakeholder Engagement Guidance for more information.