The SBTi launches open call for Validation Council members
6th Mar 2024
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) continues to develop its validation entity.
The SBTi has today launched its open call for Validation Council members to oversee the governance of target validation as the SBTi continues to develop its validation entity. The SBTi announced its demerger from its partner organizations and the separation of standard-setting and validation in September 2023.
Demand for validation services has risen consistently, with the total number of companies with validated targets doubling again in 2024. This has prompted the rapid scale-up of validation services, which increased validation numbers while halving average waiting times.
The SBTi is looking for five independent Validation Council members. They will serve three-year terms with a maximum of two terms and will be requested to dedicate around five days per year to Validation Council responsibilities. Experienced professionals in conformity assessment, third party verification, or previous independent certification bodies are sought, ensuring the target services success as a stand alone validation body.
The SBTi’s Head of Validation McKenna Smith commented: “We are delighted to open this call for a new governance structure to oversee the vital work of science-based target validation. As we continue to grow and develop and evolve into our scaled-up structure, the support of the Validation Council will be invaluable. It will act as an assurer of quality and independence of validated science-based targets and, ultimately, the decarbonization goals of companies and financial institutions.”
Validation Council members will initially be appointed by the SBTi, before being transferred to the validation services entity as it becomes fully operational. They are being recruited with support from Climate17, a purpose-led, international Renewable Energy & Sustainability recruitment consulting firm.
The scaleup of validation services has also included process optimization, implementation of increasing technological and data capabilities and an expansion in the number of staff.
Access the open call and read the Terms of Reference.
