How can we reduce the amount of planet-harming greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere? A groundbreaking new WWF-backed standard is helping companies play their part.
Around the world, WWF is working with others to limit the global temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C – the point at which the most catastrophic impacts for people and nature become inevitable.
Rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions to as near zero as possible is part of the answer. So we welcome the launch of the world’s first net-zero corporate standard, developed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – an organization that we helped to found.
This new framework will help companies set scientifically-sound net-zero targets for greenhouse gas emissions. Companies adopting the standard must halve their emissions by 2030, and aim to achieve close-to-zero emissions by 2050 while neutralizing any other impossible-to-eliminate emissions through measures that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Additionally, companies are also encouraged to go further by making investments outside their immediate business activities to help tackle the climate crisis.
EMISSIONS REDUCTION ALREADY UNDERWAY
Since 2015, the SBTi has been working with companies – over 2,600 to date – to set emissions targets in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The most recent analysis shows that companies with such science-based targets have reduced their combined emissions by 25% since 2015.
YOU CAN…