Science Based Targets Network
The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) is a civil-society and science-led initiative founded in 2019 by a group of global organisations that united to collectively define what is necessary for companies and cities to stay within Earth’s limits and meet society’s needs. Its founding partners include several AFi Coalition members (CDP, Conservation International, World Resources Institute, and WWF), as well as UNEP-WCMC, United Nations Global Compact, and the World Economic Forum.
SBTN provides companies with a method to set science-based targets for nature, which complements the work of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) on science-based targets for climate. SBTN supports companies to better understand their impacts on biodiversity, freshwater, land, and oceans, and to set targets aligned with global goals.
In July 2024, following a year-long piloting process, SBTN published Version 1 of its targets for land, which include three targets: 1) no conversion of natural ecosystems, 2) land footprint reduction, and 3) landscape engagement. The first target requires companies to achieve no-conversion of natural ecosystems in alignment with the guidance and definitions of the Accountability Framework. The AFi Backbone Team worked closely with SBTN to write the guidance associated with this target and to assure its alignment and interoperability with the Framework. Companies can use the SBTN guidance and methodology to set, validate, implement, and report on no-conversion targets as part of their overall approach to nature. Companies that set no-conversion commitments that align with the Accountability Framework are well positioned to fulfil SBTN target validation requirements for no-conversion targets.
To support companies in setting no-conversion targets, SBTN developed and published its Natural Lands Map, which establishes a common baseline for companies to use when visualising the extent of natural land in 2020. This allows companies setting no-conversion targets to assess whether they may be responsible for conversion after 2020 as a result of their direct operations or sourcing. It also allows them to set targets for eliminating the conversion of lands classified as natural that are associated with their businesses. The classification of ‘natural ecosystems’ in the SBTN Natural Lands Map is based on the Accountability Framework’s definition, translated into quantifiable and mappable characteristics.
“The Accountability Framework initiative provides SBTN land targets with the cornerstone for defining and ultimately measuring land use change. By anchoring our process to AFi’s and integrating its definition of natural ecosystems, companies have one less definitional minefield to navigate. Together with the AFi and other initiatives, SBTN developed practical, aligned, and complementary targets and guidance for companies. These allow companies to commit and then demonstrate how their actions on deforestation and ecosystem conversion in their operations and commodity supply chains align with what nature needs.”
— Craig Beatty, Land Hub Co-Lead, SBTN and Manager, Forest Strategy and Research, WWF-US
