The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) has published the first draft land targets, intended to help corporations align their commitments and actions with the necessary speed and scale to halt and reverse global nature loss.
Targets for no conversion of natural ecosystems, land footprint reduction, and landscape engagement will be out for public consultation until Mar. 7, SBTN said on Tuesday.
“Land science-based targets build on and complement climate science-based targets by incentivising corporate action – beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions – to address the overall need of the environment,” SBTN said.
It has designed the targets to address nature impacts that climate action can’t, such as the reduction and treatment of pollution and effluents, reduced pesticide use, erosion control, and other actions focused on promoting biodiversity and ecosystem integrity, it said.
The first three targets go beyond just forests, and also apply to other ecosystems, such as grasslands, wetlands, and shrublands.
SBTN targets are designed to provide practical guidance for what is required for companies to take sufficient action against climate change and nature loss, and businesses that have their commitments and action plans assessed and approved by the network will receive the SBTN’s stamp of approval and can claim they are taking credible action.
It begun accepting applications from companies last month to select a group of corporations that would be the first to try out the land targets, and expects to be able to accept interest from all companies during Q1 next year.
However, companies wishing to take on science-based targets on land must first have gone through the process of assessing and prioritising their impacts of nature.
The land targets have also been developed on the assumption that companies taking them on are already familiar with the process around setting science-based climate targets.
SBTN said the three land targets were designed to ensure maximum coverage of pressures most relevant to the impacts most companies have on land, be underpinned by quantifiable and measurable metrics, aligned with and built on active and relevant CSR standards and initiatives, and incentivise action across the network’s mitigation hierarchy.
“The three targets are informed by the information and data that is currently available and allow companies to set targets today that will allow for quantifiable contributions at the company and landscape level,” the draft said.
“They are designed to increase the clarity, ambition, and/or scope of existing initiatives that, despite intent, have not led to the transformational changes required to address climate change and nature loss.”
As accounting methods for impacts and dependencies on nature improve, SBTN will update the land targets, and when Version 2 comes out it will also include targets to reflect what is needed at local level.
It is also working develop a more complete set of biodiversity target-setting methods, including species and pressures on biodiversity that are currently not covered.
By Stian Reklev – stian@carbon-pulse.com
*** Click here to sign up to our weekly biodiversity newsletter ***
