SBTi Monitoring Report 2022

2022 progress at a glance

+1,287 commitments
1,097
companies and financial institions set science-based targets
34%
scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction between 2015 & 2020
58%
of organizations setting targets in 2022 were SMEs
130
companies set net-zero targets
60%
of companies setting targets came from the service, manufacturing and infrastructure industries
79%
of all companies with science-based targets were 1.5°C-aligned for scopes 1 and 2
96%
of all companies with science-based targets covered scope 3
27%
increase in the amount of combined scope 1 and 2 emissions covered by science-based targets
76m
tonnes of CO2 committed to be reduced through science-based targets
77%
of companies with science-based targets publicly reported progress against their targets

2022 saw significant growth in the number of companies and financial institutions setting science-based targets, despite an increasingly challenging global backdrop of more frequent and destructive extreme weather, conflict and economic and political instability.

The number of companies and financial institutions setting science-based targets continued to grow. In 2022, 1,097 companies had their targets validated, a number greater than the total of the previous seven years combined.

As of July 2022, the SBTi has only accepted new target submissions which are aligned with 1.5ºC.

1.5°C

By the end of 2022, companies with science-based targets or which had committed to set targets represented over a third (34%) of the global economy by market capitalization.

34%

Japan had the highest number of companies setting targets in 2022, followed by the UK and US. Asia saw the greatest proportional growth in companies setting targets, with Africa and Latin America also experiencing growth.

For the first time, we have observed growth in every continent. Companies in Albania, Malta, Myanmar (Burma), Romania and Tunisia set sciencebased targets, while companies in Liechtenstein, Morocco, Sierra Leone, and Trinidad and Tobago committed to set science-based targets.

88% of companies listed on France’s CAC Index had set or committed to set targets by the end of 2022, compared to 70% on Germany’s DAX Index, 69% of companies on the UK’s FTSE, 43% on Italy’s MIB, 42% of all S&P companies and 40% of companies listed on Japan’s NIKKEI Index.

There was significant growth in the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) setting targets, with SMEs representing the majority (58%) of organizations setting targets in 2022.

58%

130 companies set net-zero targets in 2022, making up 12% of all targets validated that year.

130

60% of companies setting targets came from the service, manufacturing and infrastructure industries. The materials industry saw the highest growth in the number of companies setting targets, while the three lowest represented industries – power generation, biotech, healthcare and pharma, and hospitality – saw little change.

79% of all companies with science-based targets were 1.5°C-aligned for scopes 1 and 2 by the end of 2022.

79%

96% (excluding SMEs and financial institutions) of all companies with science-based targets covered scope 3 by the end of 2022.

96%

The amount of company combined scope 1 and 2 emissions covered by science-based targets increased by 27% compared to 2021, representing 422 million tonnes of CO2e.

As of December 2022, total committed annual emissions reductions across all approved science-based targets was 76 million tonnes of CO2e, equivalent to eliminating Switzerland’s 2022 annual CO2 emissions more than twice over.

76m

More than three quarters (76%) of companies with science-based targets publicly reported progress against their targets in some form. More than half (53%) of companies fully reported progress on all their near-term and long-term targets in 2022, while around a quarter (23%) reported on at least one target. Half the financial institutions with science-based targets reported publicly on progress of their targets via CDP.

Companies with science-based targets’ reported scope 1 and 2 emissions collectively exhibited a small (0.4%) increase between 2020 and 2021. It is important to note the context of 2020 in which global trade and therefore emissions were severely restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As global emissions rebounded in 2021 to levels comparable with 2019, the scope 1 and 2 emissions of SBTi companies in 2021 stayed well below their 2019 levels.