SBTN framework now ‘sufficiently mature’ to guide corporate nature targets: WWF

Companies should commit to setting ambitious and comprehensive nature targets by leveraging the methodology of the Science-Based Targets Network (SBTN) – a framework WWF considers “ready to guide their efforts”.

In a new report with recommendations to assess the credibility of corporate nature targets in the EU, the NGO analyses the SBTN’s alignment with obligations under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) – and concludes that the initiative’s guidance “can greatly facilitate the implementation of nature targets and their related reporting requirements by CSRD”.

“Companies must take immediate and decisive action to set comprehensive nature targets, as the methodologies and frameworks are now sufficiently mature to guide this process. The time for hesitation has passed and there is no longer any excuse for inaction. This report examines how companies, auditors, and supervisors must ensure the credibility of nature objectives as the cornerstone of a robust transition plan,” said Antoine Pugliese, Head of Sustainable Finance at WWF France.

Complying with CSRD obligations on nature

Under the CSRD, most firms will be required to report metrics around pollution, water resources, biodiversity and the circular economy due to their material impacts. They will also have to disclose any nature-related targets they have (voluntarily) set for themselves – and how these targets align with the Global Biodiversity Framework adopted at COP15 in Montreal two years ago.

The NGO offers a list of recommendations to ensure nature targets are robust and in compliance with the obligations set out by the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) – the methodology used for CSRD disclosures.

First, targets must fully cover companies’ own activities as well as value chains – and be related to their specific sector. Ideally, companies should collect data from suppliers across their entire value chains to assess their impacts. But given the current difficulty in obtaining reliable data, WWF recommends that nature-related targets should “be informed at the appropriate value chain levels (entity level, site level, product/activity level, clear up/downstream level), combining those different target levels to cover at most the entity's value chain”.

At the same time, companies should engage with their suppliers to improve the granularity of nature impact analysis.

SBTN: ‘The gold standard’ for nature target-setting

Secondly, targets should be geography-specific, and related to ecosystem and nature pressures – taking into account the fact that each ecosystem is unique.

Targets should also be science-based, time-bound and combining quantitative and qualitative data, the NGO adds.

Following the SBTN’s methodology for nature target-setting can support companies in establishing all these elements.

“The SBTN currently represents the gold standard in target setting methodology and provides a solid basis for complying with all CSRD and related ESRS requirements related to nature target reporting, sometimes going beyond these regulatory expectations,” the report concludes.