SBTi Monitoring Report 2023
The SBTi Monitoring Report 2023 highlights key trends in companies and financial institutions setting science-based targets, along with the SBTi’s major updates and publications during the year.
Explore the report
Continued growth in the number of companies setting targets
Uptake of science-based targets continued growing on an exponential trajectory, more than doubling from 2022. 2,080 companies had validated science-based targets by the end of 2022, with that growing to 4,204 total in 2023, representing a 102% increase in the total number of companies and financial institutions with science-based targets. 2,125 companies set science-based targets for the first time in 2023, compared to 996 companies in 2022, representing a 113% increase in the number. 142 companies updated their targets in 2023, so the total number of companies to set or update their targets in the year was 2,267.
Proportion of global market capitalization covered by science-based targets or commitments increased
The proportion of the global market cap represented by companies that had set or committed to set science-based targets increased by two percentage points between 2022 and 2023. By the end of 2023, companies with science-based targets or commitments represented 39% of the global economy by market capitalization, compared to 37% by the end of the previous year. In absolute terms, the market cap value of companies with science-based targets increased 16% in 2023 from the previous year, in contrast to the global economy which grew by nearly 11%.
North America had the biggest market cap coverage of companies with science-based targets or commitments to setting them, with $26.6 trillion. Despite 16% growth of SBTi companies in absolute terms there, market penetration fell from 50% to 48% year on year. Penetration in all other regions grew between two to four percentage points.
Japan, UK and US have the highest number of companies with approved targets
Progress in adopting science-based targets was particularly strong in developed economies.
Japan had the highest number of companies setting targets in 2023 (453), followed by the United Kingdom (385) and the United States (214). By the end of 2023, Japan had the highest number of validated companies of any nation (768), overtaking the previous leader the UK (693), and the US (465), which was previously the country with the second highest number of companies with targets.
By the end of 2023, there were companies with validated science-based targets in 76 countries, with companies in 14 countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Slovakia setting targets for the first time. Companies in a further 6 countries committed to setting targets for the first time. These included Gabon, Qatar and Ukraine.
It is important to acknowledge that the country designation refers to the location of a company’s headquarters and does not necessarily correlate with the location of the majority of its operations or supply chain.
G20 uptake continues to grow
Growth in the cumulative number of companies with validated science-based targets was strong in G20 companies, with:
- 214% growth in India (from 43 to 135 companies)
- 200% growth in Korea (from 9 to 27 companies)
- 167% in Mexico (from 6 to 16), 141% growth in China (from 97 to 234 companies)
- 136% growth in Turkiye (from 11 to 26 companies)
- 131% growth in Japan (from 333 to 768 companies)
- 110% growth in South Africa (from 10 to 21 companies)
- 109% in Italy (from 44 to 92 companies)
- 104% growth in the UK (from 340 to 693 companies)
- A three-fold increase in Indonesia, from just one to four companies with validated targets
Even those G20 countries which showed lower growth compared with other G20 members, such as Brazil with 82% growth (from 17 to 31 companies), 65% growth in the USA (from 281 to 465 companies), 65% growth in Canada (from 34 to 56 companies) and 58% growth in Australia (from 31 to 49 companies) showed strong growth compared to all countries outside the G20.
The low number of companies in Saudi Arabia (from 0 to one company) and Argentina (from 0 to two companies) with validated targets indicates that there may be room to grow in those markets.
Spotlight on Asia
During 2023, Asia was the continent which saw the second greatest proportional growth in the number of organizations setting science-based targets. 741 companies headquartered in Asia set a science-based target in 2023, bringing the total to 1,228 for the region. This represented a 140% increase in the number of Asian companies setting a science-based target compared with 2022. In total 27% of all companies with targets and commitments are headquartered in Asia (2015-2023).
Japan had the highest number of companies setting targets worldwide (453), representing a 124% growth in companies with targets validated. India’s growth curve was the steepest with a 520% increase in the number of companies setting targets in 2023 compared to the previous year. As many companies in India are part of the value chains of large companies headquartered elsewhere, growth in India can have a powerful effect on the scope 3 emissions of companies all over the world.
Asia and Global South highlights
Spotlight on MENA
While the number of companies with science-based targets in the Middle East and North Africa remained low, there were encouraging signs from the Middle East and North Africa as the number of companies setting targets increased from two in 2022 to 11 in 2023, representing a 450% increase.
Spotlight on the Global South
There was also strong growth in the number of companies in both Africa and Latin America setting science-based targets. 16 companies in Africa and 33 companies in Latin America set targets in 2023, an increase of 46% and 38% respectively. Despite this strong growth in the Global South, the majority of companies with science-based targets continued to be found in countries with more developed economies.