March-April 2026 Newsletter
Momentum for nature continues – help shape what comes next
Dear Colleague,
Momentum for science-based targets for nature continues.
More companies are now publicly disclosing progress. H&M has adopted science-based targets for land, Novo Nordisk has completed a science-based materiality assessment and prioritization of its impacts on nature, and 30 companies are now publicly signaling their ambition through SBTN’s Step Up for Nature initiative.
This momentum continues at an important time. As nature-related risks increasingly affect supply chains, water security, and long-term business resilience, companies need credible ways to understand their impacts and focus action where it matters most.
That is why I’m pleased to share that SBTN has launched a public consultation to inform Version 2 of its Step 1: Assess and Step 2: Prioritize technical guidance, planned for release in mid-2026.
These foundational steps help companies assess their impacts on nature across the value chain and prioritize where action and target-setting can have the greatest benefit. The proposed updates build on real-world corporate implementation experience and input from SBTN’s technical community, with the aim of helping companies move more efficiently from assessment to action, while maintaining scientific integrity.
The consultation is open until April 17, 2026, and we encourage broad stakeholder input. Your perspective will help shape our final major technical update and strengthen the support available to companies taking science-based action for nature.
I hope you’ll take part, and I invite you to read on for more on the consultation and other updates from across the Network.
All my best,
Erin Billman
CEO, Science Based Targets Network
Latest Updates from SBTN
Join the public consultation webinar
Join SBTN’s technical experts on April 7, 2026 for a webinar that will outline the main updates under consideration for Version 2 of its Step 1: Assess and Step 2: Prioritize methods. The webinar will also explore the key questions open to public input, and participants will have the opportunity to ask their own questions as well.
Join the session to help inform your response to the public consultation and gain some early insight into potential changes.
Growing awareness of science-based targets for nature at global events
Economist Impact Summit – London, UK
Earlier this month, SBTN CEO Erin Billman was featured in a keynote interview at the Economist Impact’s first Biodiversity and Natural Capital Summit, during their annual Sustainability Week in London, UK.
As moderator Emily Jackson-Kessler, SVP, Sustainability at The Economist, wrote in her LinkedIn recap: “Companies need to recognise the link between nature action and supply-chain resilience to build long-term value and investor confidence. Science-based targets for nature can help companies cut through the complexity and focus on what matters most in their supply chains – much in the way the SBTi did for climate.”
Food Navigator also shared highlights for the sector in a recent article, titled “Corporate sustainability holds firm despite political noise.”
Villars Institute Summit – Switzerland
Last week, Erin participated in the Villars Institute Summit in Switzerland, where she spoke on a panel about how science-based targets for the ocean provide a globally recognized, standardized framework to help companies move beyond commitments to credible, measurable action — strengthening resilience across seafood value chains.
She also co-lead a session on aligning finance for nature and biodiversity, sharing how science-based targets for nature translate ecological limits into clearer signals for investment and capital allocation.
Erin also took part in the CSO leadership roundtable, where leaders shared candid perspectives on what is driving progress. Explore the visual summary below for key takeaways from those conversations.
Partner Spotlights
Here are some of the latest news and resources from SBTN partners to support your work on credible action for nature:
- CDP has announced key changes for their 2026 disclosure cycle, including increased alignment with the SBTN framework. For example, for forests and ecosystems, “for the 2026 reporting cycle, CDP has made minor changes to allow organizations that have set SBTs for nature to be recognized within the existing scoring.” For water security, “CDP considers targets that have been set according to the SBTN freshwater methodologies and validated by the Accountability Accelerator to reflect best practice.” In 2026, organizations will be able to include validated freshwater targets, along with validated Step 1: Assess results, in their CDP disclosures.
- WWF and CDP have released a report on “Enabling and scaling nature in transition planning.” The report outlines what including nature in transition planning requires: strong governance, clear ambition, sector‑specific pathways, and a structured approach to assessing impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities. It also points to the ecosystem of support: tools and standards– such as science-based targets for nature – that can help organisations move from commitment to implementation.
- A new case study from MSCI Inc. & WWF Sustainable Finance helps illustrate how nature‑related risks directly affect corporate revenues. It shows how much nature risks are shaping operational continuity, supply chain stability, and financial performance. The case study explores nature risk exposure for companies in the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index – and showcases how investors are impacted through example portfolios.
- The SBTi has published Version 1.2 of its Forest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG) Guidance, supporting decarbonization strategies for companies operating in land-intensive value chains. Once companies have set FLAG targets through SBTi, science-based targets for land through SBTN are a natural next step – helping companies address wider land-related pressures driving nature loss, not only climate.
- The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Oliver Wyman, has published a report on 50 Investible Opportunities for a New Nature Economy. It emphasizes that nature-positive solutions anchored by SBTN’s AR3T framework can also be “business-positive and investment-positive,” describing current funding gaps for nature solutions as a “missed economic opportunity,” and encouraging the financial sector to harness this potential.
