Below is an excerpt from ISS-Corporate’s recently released article “Science-Based Targets: Evolving Standards and Global Adoption”. The full article is available on ISS-Corporate’s resources page.
Companies increasingly use science-based targets as a common reference point for articulating and explaining their climate ambitions. At their core, science-based targets provide a consistent, science-based approach to setting and evaluating corporate climate targets, supported by independent review from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). For investors and other external users, this independent validation is central: it introduces a level of credibility and comparability that allows climate targets to be assessed across companies and sectors, reducing reliance on self-defined or opaque benchmarks.
For companies, the continued uptake of science-based targets reflects a different, but related, set of considerations. Externally, validated targets support credible signaling to investors, customers, and business partners, and increasingly serve as a reference point for setting expectations within the value chain. Internally, the target-setting process helps translate long-term climate ambition into more structured planning discussions, informing decisions around operations, sourcing, and engagement with suppliers. Separately, disclosure frameworks such as IFRS S2 and the EU’s CSRD have increased scrutiny of how companies define climate targets, track progress, and explain transition plans. While these frameworks do not require science-based targets, leveraging science-based targets can serve as a structured and credible reference point for organizing climate-related disclosures and governance narratives.
By:
Kosmas Papadopoulos, Head of Sustainability Advisory – Americas, ISS-Corporate
