From Climate Ambition to Delivery: Why SBTi Validation Is Only the Beginning
Since its creation in 2015, the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has helped more than 13,500 companies set or commit to science-based targets, moving climate commitments from voluntary aspiration toward externally validated ambition.
However, the credibility challenge has evolved. The question is no longer whether organisations can set credible targets; it is whether they can deliver them. As many organisations review and revise their net-zero and sustainability strategies, the gap between ambition and delivery raises three questions: is SBTi the right instrument, is there a robust delivery plan and is the business case strong enough to secure executive support?
This is where ambition is being tested in practice. Recent evidence suggests that only around one in three companies is on track to meet its emissions targets and, among them, only a small minority have fully embedded climate considerations into core business decisions. The implication is clear: credibility now depends less on the existence of a validated target and more on the ability to translate that target into investment decisions, operating model changes and measurable progress.
The release of SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Corporate Standard v2.0 in June 2026 reinforces the expectation that companies should have transition plans but it does not remove the core challenge: whether those plans are robust enough to deliver. SBTi validation should therefore be treated not as an endpoint but as the start of a transformation journey that embeds decarbonisation into strategy, governance, investment decisions, operations, data and capabilities.