Powering the shift from corporate ambition to action: Refreshing the SBTi’s Theory of Change and Strategy into 2030

Backed by more than a decade of momentum, the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) has become a defining force in corporate climate action – with over 11,000 companies worldwide using our standards, tools and guidance to set targets and commitments aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Over this time, the SBTi has grown and evolved in step with our broader ecosystem to ignite ongoing climate ambition. However, as global greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb and the devastating implications of climate change become ever more apparent, shifting the focus from ambition to action has never been more urgent. Companies have a critical role to play here in driving progress toward net-zero while strengthening their resilience by minimizing transition risk. 

When I joined the SBTi as CEO in early April – soon after the period where we took a critical step forward by becoming an independent entity from our founding partners – we launched a project to refresh our theory of change and strategy. It’s an important moment of renewal for the SBTi, building on a decade of progress and setting the direction for the next phase of impact.

The SBTi’s original theory of change – our roadmap explaining how science-based targets can deliver real-world climate impact – centered on leveraging early leadership by businesses to accelerate widespread adoption. This foundation remains core to our mission,  however the world has evolved since we were founded in 2014, and climate science requires even more urgent action. As the SBTi steps into its role as a voluntary corporate climate action standard-setter, we’re now looking to continue to grow our global impact. 

To ensure that our revised theory of change – and the strategy that will follow from it –  reflects the diverse needs of stakeholders, we followed a consultative process. Through interviews and workshops, we spoke with businesses of different sizes, sectors, and locations – as well as researchers, standard setters, civil society organizations, and philanthropies. In total, over 120 participants in 5 continents plus over 100 staff shared their time, insights and perspectives. 

During these sessions, we asked critical impact questions: Why do companies set science-based targets and what challenges do they face? What levers really drive change? And what do stakeholders want to see from the SBTi in our next phase of impact?

Some of the key insights that strongly came through, and will be considered, included:

• Our unique value lies in aligning our standards and activities (current and potential new activities, which will be set out in our theory of change and strategy) with climate science – earning the respect and trust of a broad range of stakeholders
• We should focus where we can have the greatest impact – for example, by developing standards that target the most material emissions categories, reflect the circumstances of different companies, and concentrate on urgent  reductions
• We should work together with our ecosystem to support companies on their emissions reduction journeys 

After reflecting on what we heard, we have now developed a near final theory of change. We have also recently started our strategy development process, which we will be discussing with our staff, executive leadership, board, and stakeholders. 

Our aim is to publish our strategy, theory of change, and approach to monitoring, learning and evaluating our progress on both, no later than early 2026.

Of course ultimately, this isn’t just about refining our standards — it’s about building an SBTi fit for the challenges we face in this critical decade to 2030: grounded in science, shaped by the needs of our stakeholders and the businesses that rely on our products, and delivering our mission for climate action.