Setting a Science-Based Target at Your Company: What You Need to Know

When it comes to combatting climate change, there’s a million-dollar question for organizations to answer: How can they contribute to a zero-carbon economy and drive sustainable growth at the same time? One way is to set science-based emissions reduction targets. A science-based target shows companies how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in order to prevent the worst effects of climate change. Over a two thousand companies worldwide are leading the zero-carbon transition by setting emissions reduction targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

In this article, we’ll explore why it’s important to set science-based emissions targets, the benefits of doing so, how to go about setting your target, and how WatchWire can help your company through the process.

Why Set a Science-Based Target?

In the 2015 Paris Agreement, world governments committed to curbing global temperature rise to well-below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that global warming must not exceed 1.5°C to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change.

To achieve this, greenhouse gas emissions must halve by 2030 – and drop to net-zero by 2050. Your company can play a crucial role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions by setting a science-based target. If you need more motivation, check out the list of benefits below.

The Benefits of Adopting a Science-Based Target

Companies report that adopting a science-based target:

• Boosts profitability
• Improves investor confidence
• Drives innovation
• Reduces regulatory uncertainty
• Strengthens brand reputation

Clearly, creating a climate-secure world goes hand-in-hand with successful business operations!

Steps to Setting a Science-Based Target

Source: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/

How WatchWire Can Help Your Company Adopt a Science-Based Target

WatchWire can help you achieve your sustainability and net zero goals, no matter how big or small. Our energy and sustainability management software can:

• Keep you on pace to reach your science-based target by clearly illustrating your progress
• Provide you with real time or interval data monitoring to determine areas of inefficiency or track your renewable generation investments
• Measure your water, GHG emissions, and energy use
• Help you measure and verify the effectiveness of your efficiency projects
• Benchmark your efforts against national averages
• Streamline sustainability reporting with integrations to all frameworks, like LEED ARC and ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

WatchWire helps along your company’s entire sustainable (or net zero) journey. In addition to the above, WatchWire makes procuring renewable energy easier by providing market expertise and ensuring supply contract decisions are optimized for future operations at your facility. WatchWire will also track your contracts to ensure their performance is meeting expectations. Maybe your company already installed solar panels last year; WatchWire helps measure and verify the efficiency of your distributed energy resources, allowing you to track how much they are saving you in terms of utility costs and emissions.

To learn more about WatchWire, check out the WatchWire Fact Sheet. Or, if you want to discover more about increasing setting a net zero goal for your company, browse through our e-Book, “Utilizing Sustainability Reporting in the Journey Towards Net Zero.”