SCIENCE BASED TARGETS INITIATIVE (SBTi): STANDARDS AND COLLABORATION TO REDUCE CO₂ EMISSIONS

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a partnership promoted by the UN Global Compact (UNGC), the World Resource Institute (WRI), the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and WWF. Created to implement the 2015 Paris Agreement, it was signed by member states at COP21 (Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
Currently, more than 3,300 companies worldwide have joined the SBT initiative. To participate, companies must precisely define an emissions reduction target that will be evaluated and validated by SBTi so that the company can then translate that commitment into concrete actions and communicate it to its stakeholders. As a Group, we have joined the SBT initiative and obtained approval of our 2030 CO₂ reduction target: minus 30% of absolute emissions (Scope 1+2), equal to 240 kton CO₂ (compared to 330 kt in base year 2019). This means that our reduction target, aligned with the “well below 2°C” scenario, is a science-based target (SBT) aligned with what science says is needed to slow global warming.

Ambitious and necessary reductions
According to the latest report published in 2022 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate change and related effects -such as sea level rise, ocean acidification, and increased extreme events- are dramatically and progressively affecting our planet’s biodiversity and ecosystems, the health and well-being of people and infrastructures in every corner of the world. Climate change impacts are expected to intensify with further warming, but at the same time they can be reduced, within limits, if humans and nature adapt to changing conditions. To succeed, adaptation measures need urgent, ambitious and fast action, rapid and significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
The SBT initiative calls on all companies to plan rapid actions to decarbonize direct emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions from electricity use (Scope 2) and indirect emissions related to the supply chain.

Setting science-based targets is crucial for Fedrigoni: it stimulates rapid reductions in the atmosphere of CO₂ emissions, prepares for new regulations and legislation, increases investor confidence, stimulates innovation and competitiveness, and gives more substance to our commitments and actions toward sustainability.