The Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has published the SBTi Trend Tracker which reveals that the number of companies setting near-term science-based targets has grown by 97% in 18 months, while businesses setting both near-term and net-zero targets grew by 227% across the same period.
SBTi was founded in 2015 to ensure that companies claiming to make changes to benefit the environment were actually aligning their sustainability decisions with the best science and practices. Prior to that, greenwashing had been prevalent, with many companies making vaguely “green” promises that had no real impact.
The last two years have been turbulent for sustainability, with the U.S. Biden administration investing heavily in the energy transition and other initiatives, in tandem with many new regulations out of Europe in 2024 followed by a significant retrenchment at the beginning of 2025. The current U.S. administration seems to have declared war on all things sustainability and Europe’s commitments to its new regulations have wavered.
The data from SBTi suggests that corporations are still committed to pursuing net-zero goals. Companies with validated science-based targets, or commitments to set targets, represented 41% of global market capitalization at the end of 2024–a 2% jump from 2023 –according to analysis from management consulting firm Oliver Wyman. Global market revenue generated by companies with validated targets now stands at 25%, accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars across the worldwide economy.
Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, and Materials led the way as the top three sectors for the overall number of companies adopting science-based targets.
The number of validated companies in Asia increased 134%. China recorded the fastest growth rate over the 18-month period, with the number of companies with science-based targets growing by 228%. China, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea accounted for six of the top 20 fastest-growing markets over the 18-months. Overall, China delivered the strongest proportional growth globally, recording a 228% uplift that saw the number of companies with validated targets climb from 137 to 450.
The SBTi reports that businesses in these territories–many of which play a central role in global value chains and carry high Scope 3 emissions–are not only setting targets themselves, but actively encouraging suppliers and partners to follow suit. As a result, Asia is becoming a powerful amplifier of climate ambition, catalyzing a broader wave of science-based target-setting across supply chains and sectors.
The Industrials sector–covering manufacturers and distributors of capital goods–topped global adoption, accounting for nearly one-third of all companies with targets. Consumer Discretionary–encompassing automotive, household durable goods, and textiles and apparel producers–and Materials–including companies engaged in the discovery, development, and processing of raw materials–are the next largest sectors by total number of companies with validated targets.
The positive news comes in the midst of a U.S. investigation of SBTi and complaints from 23 U.S. states that any initiatives favoring companies that reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or take other measures to protect the environment or biodiversity violate laws protecting competition.
“Smart companies continue to see a strong business case to manage transition risk,” said David Kennedy, Chief Executive Officer of the Science-Based Targets initiative. “Building climate action into commercial strategy helps maintain competitiveness now and in the future and allows companies to capitalise on opportunities in the low-carbon economy. That forward-thinking approach has been playing out in the surge in science-based target setting over the past 18 months.”
