February 2026 Newsletter

Business action for biodiversity: from awareness to impact

Dear Colleague,

Looking back on Davos, a familiar gap emerged between ambition and action. The week was full of big ideas, bold statements, and carefully worded commitments. Even as attention focused on AI and geopolitics, there was growing recognition that nature matters – but far fewer are clear on what they will actually do about it. A few truths stood out:

•  Nature is at last becoming recognized as material risk, but not yet treated that way.
•  Net-zero strategies continue to advance — albeit more quietly in some markets — while nature targets often remain vague or optional.
• There is no shortage of talk, but there is a shortage of credible, science-based plans.

This is the contradiction we must move past. If nature underpins our economies, then it needs to be embedded in strategy, targets, and decision-making — not left inside commitments or glossy reports.

That’s why SBTN exists.

Credible and consensus-based approaches rooted in science matter more than ever. Our work replaces platitudes with precision: science-based targets that guide companies on where to act, how much to do, and by when. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s necessary.

Our technical community describes this approach in a new foundational position paper on biodiversity, and our new biodiversity blog highlights key messages from this work, showing how companies can translate biodiversity risk into clear priorities for action through pressure-based, place-specific approaches. 

The next phase of corporate leadership will be defined not by who speaks about nature, but by who sets targets and follows through. Let’s make sure nature gets more than applause — it gets action.

Please get in touch with me if you have suggestions for breakthroughs we can create together this year.

With resolve,

Erin Billman
CEO, Science Based Targets Network

Other news from the Network

First freshwater science-based target in real estate

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has become the first real estate company globally to set and validate a freshwater science-based target using the SBTN approach.

Through the Accountability Accelerator, it has validated its Step 1 & 2 materiality assessment and prioritization work alongside its first freshwater science-based target. Learn more about this important milestone for corporate action. 

Companies stepping up for nature

More companies have stepped up for nature through SBTN’s new initiative – each sharing the next step their company intends to complete on the journey toward science-based targets for nature, along with the timeline on which they intend to submit their work for validation by the Accountability Accelerator.

Explore SBTN’s Ambition Board to find out more about the companies stepping up, and how other companies can get involved. 

Welcoming new members of the Corporate Engagement Program

We welcome some of the newest organizations to our Corporate Engagement Program: Agentur auf,  Caixa, DT Master Carbon, and Fairphone. With over 300 members and counting, we look forward to sharing regular updates as the program continues to grow.

Partner Spotlights 

Here are some of the latest news and resources from SBTN partners to support your work on credible action for nature:

• Capitals Coalition and UNEP-WCMC released the Nature Tools Compass, providing an overview of over 70 tools that businesses, financial institutions and regulators can use when assessing their nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. To facilitate interoperability, the Nature Tools Compass indicates how each tool aligns with LEAP components as well as steps of the SBTN target-setting methodology. 
• The World Benchmarking Alliance has released its 2026 benchmark report, including cutting-edge insights on the state of corporate nature strategy. It shows that the average Nature Benchmark score of companies who mention SBTN, TNFD and the ESRS was 30, 26 and 25 respectively. These all sit far above the average score of 17 across the whole benchmark – highlighting that companies who are using the SBTN resources show a high level of maturity compared to average performance.
• CDP released its 2026 Corporate Health Check, surfacing both the scale of physical, nature-related risks companies are facing, and the scale of the financial opportunities available to companies ready to step up and take action for nature now. Disclosure is surfacing the risk and opportunity. Science-based targets for nature show companies how to act on it.
• The Science Based Targets initiative published a report on the impact of setting science-based targets. Evidence from this research shows that science-based targets help companies translate long-term environmental risk into concrete, near-term business decisions – strengthening governance, guiding investment, and preparing for regulation.
• The Nature Positive Initiative and Open Planet Studios released a new film at Davos, featuring top voices from across the global sustainability community. Erin Billman is interviewed in the film to explore how science-based targets for nature help companies contribute toward a nature positive future.