The REP Wrap: SBTi unveils 2030 strategy
Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has published its strategic plan between now and 2030, which will see it provide updates for key sectors including automotives, power, shipping, aviation, buildings, fossil fuels, steel, cement chemicals and aluminium within the next 18 months. It will also publish guidance on taking credit for investments into low-carbon technologies. In the meantime, the initiative will release the latest version of its net-zero corporate standard next month, for finalisation by the end of the year.
British firm Cranswick has published its first climate transition plan, setting out how it will become a “net-zero food production business” in line with sectoral disclosure guidelines from the Transition Plan Taskforce. Cranswick has just had its climate targets validated by the SBTi, in accordance with its Forest, Land and Agriculture guidance.
The Californian Assembly Appropriations Committee has shelved a plan to protect firms that use carbon credits from certain types of greenwashing litigation. The proposed bill would have made it harder to sue companies for false advertising in instances in which they’d used credits from approved programmes and followed local disclosure rules.
Swire Coca Cola revealed in its latest sustainability report that it has established a “water taskforce” to review its water management practices and identify future opportunities. The bottling firm is also rolling out a digital platform to help its employees and suppliers follow standardised processes for sustainable procurement. “Implementation began in the Chinese Mainland in 2024,” the firm wrote. “By January 2026, more than 3,000 supplier users and 700 Swire Coca-Cola users were using the system […] Further rollout across Swire Coca-Cola markets will support closer collaboration and more consistent procurement practices.”
H&M, Primark and Arc’teryx are among nearly 70 organisations calling on governments to introduce policy changes to incentivise circular business models in the fashion industry. The statement is accompanied by a report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which finds that tax benefits for circular products, services and employers, along with Extended Producer Responsibility rules to fund key infrastructure, could raise gross profit margins up to 55% for resale and 41% for repair.
Canadian initiative Investors for Paris Compliance has closed down this week, saying “investor accountability has reached its limits”. The group was formed five years ago to harness shareholder influence – at annual meetings and through engagement with companies and regulators – to enforce net-zero commitments. It said in a statement this week that, while some progress had been made, “the larger picture did not change much”. After trying numerous approaches, it concluded that “investor accountability, in the absence of regulatory change or legal consequences, is not sufficient to deliver net zero outcomes or manage climate risk at the system level”.
Researchers from the University of Miami evaluated 1,233 environmental commitments made by 33 of the world’s largest meat and dairy companies between 2021 and 2024, and claim almost all involve greenwashing. The study concluded most statements weren’t backed up by credible evidence or plans, and where it was provided, it tended to focus on small pilot projects.