In 2017 we bolstered our commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement by joining the Science Based Targets initiative, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint by 35% in 2022.
Targets adopted by companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered "science-based" if they are in line with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial temperatures, as described in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR5).
Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly defined pathway to future-proof growth by specifying how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The Paris agreement in 2015 saw 195 of the world's governments commit to prevent dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees celsius. This signalled an acceleration in the transition to a low carbon economy. Many companies are already demonstrating they have the skills, expertise and ingenuity to make this a reality – but need ambitious emissions reduction targets that ensure the transformational action they take is aligned with current climate science.