SBTN (Science Based Targets Network)

The SBTN (Science Based Targets Network) is the international organisation that develops methodologies for companies to set science-based environmental targets beyond carbon: freshwater, biodiversity, land use and oceans. It is the counterpart to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which focuses on climate, and shares its approach of setting measurable targets aligned with planetary boundaries.

Origin and purpose

The SBTN was launched in 2019 through a collaboration of organisations including CDP, SBTi itself, WWF, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and UNEP-WCMC, among others. Its goal is to give companies a common framework to measure their dependencies and impacts on nature and to set targets with the same scientific rigour already applied to greenhouse gas emissions.

How the AR3T framework works

The SBTN methodology follows the AR3T framework, which structures corporate action into five steps:

• Assess: identify where and how the company depends on and impacts nature across its value chain.
• Prioritise: select the locations and impacts that matter most to act on first.
• Act: apply the mitigation hierarchy, avoid, reduce, regenerate and restore, at the prioritised sites.
• Transform: drive structural changes in business models and supply chains.
• Track: monitor progress against the targets set.

Targets available today

Starting in 2023 and 2024, the SBTN has been publishing validatable targets for freshwater and for natural ecosystem conversion (zero deforestation), with further areas under development. These targets complement a company's natural capital and align with disclosure requirements under frameworks such as ESRS E4 on biodiversity and ecosystems and the TNFD.

Why it matters for your company

Investors and regulators increasingly expect companies to look beyond carbon and manage their relationship with nature explicitly. Adopting the SBTN framework helps anticipate these requirements, identify nature-related dependency risks in the supply chain, and stand out from competitors that only report on emissions.

At Manglai we help you structure an environmental strategy that brings biodiversity and natural capital together with your carbon targets. Discover how Manglai can help you.