November 2024 newsletter
Dear Colleague,
As we approach the close of another eventful year, global momentum for nature faces undeniable headwinds. COP16 underscored the gap between ambition and action, with most governments yet to outline concrete plans to meet their targets, and critical issues like financing remaining unresolved. Similarly at COP29 – the climate COP – governments are faltering in advancing the actions needed to stay within the 1.5C warming limit. These challenges erode the bold commitments and clear signals necessary to tackle pressing global dynamics, including the incoming U.S. government and ongoing geopolitical tensions.
Yet, amidst these challenges, there are bright spots worth celebrating. COP16 marked a watershed moment for Indigenous representation, with Indigenous peoples and local communities formally incorporated into the official decision-making of the UN biodiversity process for the first time. The Nature Positive mission and business action were firmly on the agenda, reflecting a growing recognition of collective responsibility. This momentum from companies and civil society gives me hope that there are ways we can urgently and effectively tackle nature loss.
loser to home, this momentum was underscored by a key milestone from SBTN announced at COP16, as reported by the WSJ and many major media outlets: the first companies publicly adopting science-based targets for nature, starting with freshwater and land. As Dr Rebecca Shaw, Chief Scientist, WWF, advised during our event, “This is the best available science to help companies collaboratively move toward sustainability and resilience; not just for the environment, but also for their bottom line.”
The Accountability Accelerator also shared exciting news at COP16: preparations are underway for additional companies to have their science-based targets for nature validated. Meanwhile, our Cities team hosted events on how city leaders can translate global biodiversity goals into local action.
As we prepare to engage at the upcoming UNCCD COP16 and Davos, our resolve remains steadfast: turning ambition into sufficient action for a nature positive future.
Other news from SBTN:
- Our new Claims Guidance recognizes credible efforts as companies progress on their target-setting journey while balancing flexibility with accountability. Starting in 2025, companies will be able to publicly disclose their materiality assessment (Steps 1 & 2), providing transparency around their impacts and priorities. The guidance also allows companies to focus on a single realm (e.g. land or freshwater), and to tailor the number of freshwater targets they pursue based on their unique needs and capacity. SBTN has also introduced an alternative pathway to no conversion of natural ecosystems. This approach enables companies to progressively scale up their efforts toward achieving SBTN’s full no-conversion target by 2030, aligning ambition with practical implementation.
- We have published version 1 of our stakeholder engagement guidance. The guidance focuses on how to engage with, and recognize, the knowledge and potential contributions of Indigenous peoples, local communities, and other stakeholders who are (directly or indirectly) affected in positive and negative ways by corporate activities and value chains through target setting.
- A new WWF report analyzes SBTN’s alignment with obligations under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) – and concludes that SBTN currently represents “the gold standard in target setting methodology and provides a solid basis for complying with all CSRD and related ESRS requirements related to nature target reporting, sometimes going beyond these regulatory expectations.”
- The beta version of the data template to use when submitting land targets for validation is now available and we welcome your feedback via the link in the template. These are in addition to the beta versions of the data templates for companies to use when submitting their materiality assessment and prioritization activities (Step 1 & 2) for validation. Freshwater data templates will be available soon.
Kind regards,
Erin Billman
Executive Director
Science Based Targets Network