Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN): What They Are and How They Work

Science-based targets for nature (SBTN) apply the same evidence-based logic that has shaped corporate climate commitments to a broader set of ecological pressures: biodiversity loss, freshwater depletion, and land degradation. Where science-based emissions targets (SBTi) ask “how much do we need to cut?” SBTN asks the same question across nature as a whole.

Science-based targets for nature are measurable, time-bound corporate commitments that align a company’s impact on nature with what science says is needed to halt and reverse ecosystem decline. They are developed by the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), a coalition of more than 100 organisations including WWF, WRI, and Conservation International.

The underlying premise is identical to SBTi: voluntary corporate action that meets the bar set by current scientific evidence, verified by an independent body. The difference is scope. SBTi addresses greenhouse gas emissions and global temperature. SBTN addresses freshwater systems, terrestrial land use, and biodiversity — the ecosystems that underpin agricultural supply chains, ingredient availability, and long-term business viability.

How SBTN Differs from SBTi

Both frameworks share the same underlying principle: corporate action that is sufficient, scientifically justified, and independently validated. But they address different crises with different metrics.

• Focus: SBTi targets greenhouse gas emissions and global temperature rise. SBTN targets freshwater, terrestrial land use, and biodiversity.
• Metrics: SBTi uses tCO₂e reductions measured against global carbon budgets. SBTN uses site-specific freshwater quality and quantity indicators and land use change metrics.
• Geography: Emissions reductions have roughly global equivalence: a tonne of CO₂ saved anywhere counts the same. Nature impacts are location-specific: a facility in a water-stressed watershed has a materially different profile than the same facility in a water-abundant region.
• Validation maturity: SBTi has been operational since 2015 with thousands of committed companies. SBTN opened validation to all organisations in Q1 2024; more than 200 organisations representing over $5.5 trillion in combined market capitalisation have engaged.
• Coverage scope: SBTi covers corporate Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. SBTN covers direct operations and priority supply chain locations identified through an impact and dependency screening.

The Four Nature Realms

SBTN’s methodology currently covers two primary realms, with additional realms under development:

• Freshwater: both quality (pollution, nutrient runoff, thermal discharge) and quantity (extraction relative to local availability and basin health). Freshwater targets are assessed against each watershed’s ecological flow requirements and regeneration rate.
• Terrestrial and land use: conversion of natural habitats, deforestation, degradation of soil health, and land management practices in agricultural supply chains. Targets are assessed against baseline land cover data for each site.
• Ocean and atmosphere: under development. SBTN is scoping marine and coastal ecosystems as additional realms for future versions of the methodology.
• Biodiversity: functions as an outcome across all realms rather than a standalone category. A company meeting its freshwater and land targets should, in theory, be preventing the habitat degradation that drives species decline.

The SBTN Five-Step Process

SBTN follows a structured five-step pathway from initial dependency screening to ongoing monitoring:

1. Assess: map your dependencies and impacts on nature across your value chain. Tools include ENCORE (Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure) and the SBTN’s Corporate Engagement Programme.
2. Interpret and Prioritise: identify which nature realms and geographies are most material to your operations. This step narrows the target-setting scope to the most significant sites and impact types.
3. Measure, Set and Disclose: set quantitative targets for each priority realm and site, submit for SBTN validation, and disclose publicly. This is the validation gate currently open to all organisations.
4. Act: implement reduction and restoration strategies. SBTN guidance frameworks for this phase are under development.
5. Track and Report: monitor progress against targets and disclose annually. Monitoring guidance is also under active development by SBTN.

Who Is Setting Nature Targets?

Large consumer goods, food and agriculture, and financial services companies have dominated early SBTN adoption, driven by visible land and freshwater dependencies in their supply chains. Unilever, Nestlé, and Danone are among the early movers in food and beverage; Kering and Puma in apparel; and several financial institutions are developing nature-related portfolio targets.

The pharmaceutical sector joined in October 2024 when GSK became the first pharmaceutical company to receive validated science-based targets for nature. GSK’s targets cover freshwater quality and quantity at its manufacturing sites, including its facility in Nashik, India — a highly water-stressed region. GSK had already reduced water abstraction at Nashik by 28% and cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 36% company-wide, establishing the operational baseline that enabled nature target validation.

The diversity of sectors now engaged reflects a broader recognition: nature risk is not confined to agriculture. Freshwater, land, and biodiversity dependencies run through pharmaceutical, apparel, electronics, and financial portfolios — often invisibly until a disruption makes them visible.

SBTN, CSRD, TNFD, and EU Taxonomy

SBTN targets integrate directly into the major sustainability disclosure frameworks, providing the target-backed credibility that reporting-only frameworks do not supply:

• CSRD and ESRS E3/E4: the European Sustainability Reporting Standards require disclosure of material impacts and dependencies on water and biodiversity (ESRS E3 and E4). SBTN target-setting provides the evidential basis and audit trail for those disclosures. Companies already setting SBTN targets have a clear path to CSRD compliance on nature topics.
• TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures): TNFD’s LEAP methodology (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) aligns closely with SBTN’s first two steps. SBTN validation provides a credible, independently verified commitment layer on top of TNFD disclosures, which are currently disclosure-only with no target-setting standard.
• EU Taxonomy: access to certain EU Green Finance designations is increasingly conditional on demonstrable nature-positive outcomes, particularly in agriculture, forestry, and water-intensive activities. SBTN alignment supports taxonomy eligibility assessments.

For companies navigating CSRD biodiversity and TNFD disclosure requirements, read our guide to CSRD biodiversity and TNFD reporting.

Getting Started With SBTN

Most organisations begin SBTN engagement with an impact and dependency screening using ENCORE or the SBTN’s free online tools. The output is a prioritised map of high-materiality nature pressures by sector and geography — a useful starting point whether or not your organisation proceeds to full target validation.

From there, the path splits: some companies proceed directly to full target-setting and SBTN validation; others use the screening to inform TNFD or CSRD disclosures first, then formalise targets in a subsequent cycle. What is consistent across early adopters is the value of starting the data collection process now. Nature targets require site-level data — water consumption by site, supplier geography, land use history — that most companies do not hold centrally.

To understand how SBTN targets relate to your existing science-based emissions commitments, read our guide to science-based targets.

To map your nature-related impacts and build the data foundation for SBTN target-setting, speak to a Brightest advisor.