Leading the Way: Corporate Reflections on Nature Targets at Climate Week NYC

26/09/2024

At Climate Week NYC, sustainability leaders gathered to share insights from companies piloting the first science-based targets for nature. The event, organized by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and co-hosted by the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) marked a significant milestone for nature target-setting.

SBTN shared key outcomes from the pilot including that the majority of participating companies received validation for some or all of their targets. While some used the pilot to gain insights for future commitments, others are now preparing to publicly disclose their targets.

In her opening remarks, Diane Holdorf, Executive Vice President of WBCSD, applauded the progress made over the past year, highlighting the benefits and lessons learned during the pilot. She reminded the audience that nature – the backbone of our economy and life support system – is in crisis. She emphasized that we need to rapidly scale the number of companies setting targets as a key lever for transforming business practices.

Corporate Insights on Business Impact

The corporate leaders’ discussions during the event underscored the value of the pilot, reinforcing SBTN’s role in closing a critical gap in corporate sustainability.

During a panel discussion, Henri Bruxelles, Chief Sustainability Officer of Danone, representing its plant-based brand Alpro, explained how preserving nature through science-based targets for nature is a “big win” for them in terms of supply chain resilience. SBTN also helped the organization deepen its understanding of double materiality, preparing them for the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
Antonio Carrillo, Head of Sustainability at Holcim, emphasized that “nature is the new climate.” After setting climate targets through SBTi, the next step for Holcim was nature targets with SBTN. Holcim sees their participation in the initiative as a source of pride and credibility for the company, establishing them as a leader in their sector.
Gilles Tisserand, VP Climate and Biodiversity at Tetra Pak, explained how SBTN’s materiality assessment helped the company prioritize the most impactful areas of its operations and supply chain. For example, they identified that over 80% of Tetra Pak’s biodiversity footprint stems from its use of paperboard, aluminum foil, and bio-based polymers.

Balancing Feasibility with Rigor

While the pilot offered significant value, it also revealed challenges. Erin Billman, Executive Director of SBTN, discussed how SBTN has since improved the feasibility of target-setting without compromising scientific rigor. These improvements include strengthened methods, recognition of credible efforts as companies progress, and reducing burdens on companies.

In her closing remarks, Erin highlighted the significance of this milestone, stating that companies now have a “vetted” proof of concept for credible action on nature. However, she acknowledged the complexity of the task, remarking:

“If it were easy, we’d be reinforcing the status quo. Nature’s complexity makes it resilient, and our task is to simplify this work without losing the richness that ensures resiliency.”

Scaling Impact

WBCSD also shared insights from companies who road-tested SBTN’s methods in parallel with the official pilot. Two key questions were raised:

How can companies not yet ready to set science-based targets ensure they are on the right path toward contributing to a nature-positive future?
How can companies credibly set targets where they can have the most influence and positive impact?

These challenges require collective action to rapidly scale nature target-setting and drive corporate and value-chain transformation.

To help address these challenges, Erin shared key updates from SBTN, including the development of new “no-regret” actions to guide companies towards science-based targets for nature. She also emphasized that all companies can assess their environmental impacts using SBTN’s prescriptive materiality and prioritization guidance, and announced that once companies complete these initial steps towards setting targets, their progress can be publicly disclosed after approval through SBTN’s upcoming target validation host, Accountability Accelerator.

SBTN continues to call on companies to begin their journey toward science-based targets for nature. Already, over 150 additional companies—through SBTN’s Corporate Engagement and Service Provider programs—are preparing to set these targets. As this event has made clear, it’s now time for companies everywhere to take action—responsibly, urgently, and with the ambition that matches the scale of the challenge.