Companies fail to fulfill sustainability promises
Published: Monday, Feb 12th 2024, 11:20
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Thousands of companies have committed themselves to scientific CO2 targets, but not all of them are actually fulfilling these obligations. The environmental protection organization Greenpeace speaks of "empty promises".
The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) is actually a success. Since it was founded nine years ago, over 7400 companies have joined, 173 of them from Switzerland. They have committed themselves to scientific CO2 reduction targets. The initiative is backed by the environmental protection organization WWF and the UN Global Compact.
The SBTi works like this: as a first step, companies commit to developing target values for CO2 reduction. This "commitment" is made publicly available on the initiative's website. Many companies communicate their commitment to the outside world.
No targets developed after two years
The companies then have two years to submit their plans to the SBTi experts. They check and validate the CO2 reduction plans for a fee. If the result is correct, the status on the SBTi website is changed to "validated".
For around six months, the initiative has been recording how many companies have withdrawn their "commitment". There are currently around 180 companies from various sectors and countries. Companies from the clothing and food industries are particularly common among them.
Sulzer is the only Swiss company to have withdrawn so far. A company spokesperson justifies this with the extensive inclusion and validation process. However: "Sulzer has not withdrawn in any way from its publicly communicated CO2 reduction targets."
Another example is the US tech company Amazon. The company founded by Jeff Bezos also withdrew its "commitment" last year. On its website, the company justified its decision with the complexity of its business, which had made it difficult to submit the targets. However, the company intends to continue working with the SBTi.
Empty promise
"A commitment without sound scientific objectives and suitable measures for implementation is ultimately a meaningless promise," comments Niki Vischer, Sustainable Finance expert at Greenpeace Switzerland. It may be good for marketing purposes, but it does nothing for the climate.
By making public which companies have not fulfilled their obligations, the initiative creates transparency, says Vischer. "This in turn enables companies to be held accountable for their unfulfilled promises."
When asked about the withdrawal of some companies, an SBTi spokeswoman says that more companies than ever are currently committing to scientific CO2 reduction targets. "The number of companies validated in 2023 has more than doubled compared to the previous year."
There are various reasons why companies do not have their targets validated on time, the spokesperson continued. "However, we welcome and encourage them to submit new targets for validation at any time."
©Keystone/SDA
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