SBTi-verified firms lack credible transition plans, finds study 

Analysis by Sustainalytics shows link between climate goals and good management practices 

Not a single company with SBTi-verified climate targets has backed them up with a credible long-term transition plan, according to an assessment of more than 9,000 firms.  

None of the firms had a strategy to align with a net-zero pathway that limited global warming to 1.5°C, found research house Sustainalytics, including nearly 1,500 with climate targets accredited by SBTi.  

Sustainalytics applies an implied temperature score to each entity, which it claims is based on a combination of the actions it is taking and the targets it has set.  

A quarter of firms with SBTi targets were deemed to be on a pathway between 1.5°C and 2.0°C – “only slightly better” than their non-SBTi peers.  

Around 70% were found to be “significantly misaligned”, meaning they are on a trajectory of between 2°C and 3°C of warming.  

More positive, however, was the finding that companies with SBTi targets were more than twice as likely to have “strong management practices” (55%) as those without (24%). 

Apple, Schneider Electric and Hewlett Packard were among those awarded good management scores in the study.  

Nearly 10% of firms with SBTi targets were found to have weak management practices. 

Around a third link their board members’ pay to decarbonisation or other climate targets, while 18% state they use an internal carbon price.