Giesekam, J orcid.org/0000-0003-2915-1323, Norman, J orcid.org/0000-0002-4139-6828, Garvey, A orcid.org/0000-0003-1538-8549 et al. (1 more author) (2021) Science-Based Targets: On Target? Sustainability, 13 (4). 1657. ISSN 2071-1050
Abstract
Companies are increasingly seeking to align their actions with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Over 1000 such companies have committed to the science-based targets initiative which seeks to align corporate carbon reduction targets with global decarbonisation trajectories. These ‘science-based targets’ are developed using a common set of resources and target-setting methodologies, then independently assessed and approved by a technical advisory group. Despite the initiative’s rapid rise to public prominence, it has received little attention to date in the academic literature. This paper discusses development of the initiative based upon a quantitative assessment of progress against each component of the science-based targets set by 81 early adopters, using information gathered from company annual reports, corporate social responsibility websites and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) responses. The analysis reveals a mixed picture of progress. Though the majority of targets assessed were on track and, in some cases, had already been achieved, just under half of the companies assessed were falling behind on one or more of their targets. Progress varied significantly by target scope, with more limited progress against targets focused on Scope 3 emissions. Company reporting practices were highly variable and often of poor quality. This paper concludes with a range of recommendations to improve the transparency, consistency and comparability of targets within this key agenda-setting initiative.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | climate; climate change mitigation; science-based targets; corporate social responsibility; emissions reduction; mitigation target; greenhouse gas accounting; corporate; reporting; sustainability |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 01 Feb 2021 13:55 |
Last Modified: | 17 Jun 2021 13:50 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/su13041657 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:170617 |