Image: Morgan Sindall Construction. Pictured: GSK’s Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry, Nottingham, UK.
The Science-Based Targets Network (SBTN), which has been working to develop the target framework for several years, confirmed the milestone today (30 October).
The SBTN’s executive director Erin Billman said: “Our corporate pilot has shown that science-based targets for nature are both feasible and valuable, closing a critical gap in corporate sustainability.
“We’re pleased to see GSK, Kering and Holcim lead the way by publicly adopting the world’s first science-based targets beyond climate; demonstrating that a clear and credible pathway for ambitious action for nature is possible.”
WWF’s Living Planet report recently confirmed that wildlife population sizes have plummeted by an average of 73% since 1970.
Kering has set targets for both freshwater and land use, while GSK and Holcim are focusing on freshwater only.
Kering, which is the parent company of brands including Gucci and Balenciaga, has pledged to stop sourcing from suppliers which convert natural ecosystems. It has also pledged to reduce its land footprint by 3% by 2030, against a 2022 baseline, and to support the adoption of regenerative agriculture on 695,000 hectares by 2030 as well.
On water, Kering will strive to reduce freshwater use in one of its top-priority basins, the Arno basin in Tuscany, by 21% this decade. It is developing similar place-based targets for other priority basins in the coming months.
GSK, meanwhile, has pledged to achieve water-neutrality for operational sites in water-stressed basins by the end of the decade. This entails replenishing as much freshwater as it uses.
GSK’s direct operations in the Upper Godavari Basin in India will be used to test innovative water efficiency and water stewardship approaches.
Holcim’s commitment entails reducing freshwater withdrawals for direct operations in the Moctezuma basin in North America by 39% compared to an average 2022-23 baseline. As the business has granular, site-specific water data, it will develop similarly specific targets for operations in other key basins.
Further action
Billman hopes that the news will inspire other large businesses to follow suit. She said: “The time for companies to act is now — responsibly, urgently, and with the ambition that matches the scale of the challenge.”
More than 150 other companies are already participating in the SBTN’s corporate engagement programme and preparing to set science-based targets for nature.
A new validation service is being hosted out of the Global Commons Alliance’s Accountability Accelerator to prepare for an influx of businesses seeking validation.
Businesses will be able to set land and freshwater targets straight away. A target framework for oceans will be finalised next year.
Kering’s chief sustainability officer Marie-Claire Daveu said: “Systemic transformation is absolutely essential – reducing and restoring freshwater and land impacts according to SBTN’s comprehensive methodology ensures standardisation, which will help catalyze the way forward for the world’s business community.”
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