The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has published two key documents to support companies in meeting a critical milestone: the mandatory five-year update of their validated science-based targets, as required under SBTi Criteria.
The first of these resources – the Mandatory Five Year Review Guidance – is designed to guide corporates and small-and-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through the process of reviewing and, if necessary, updating their targets within 12 months of their five year validation milestone.
This process ensures validated targets remain aligned with the latest SBTi Criteria and best available science. The approach also aims to improve transparency by more accurately reflecting the status of companies’ targets in publicly-available data.
For businesses, keeping targets up to date is essential for managing climate-related risks and staying competitive in a rapidly evolving market. This is not a review of progress made, but a proactive step to maintain ambition over time – ensuring that targets remain robust and responsive to change, while signalling credible, ambitious and accountable climate leadership to stakeholders
Additionally, the SBTi is expanding the range of target status for companies, to enhance transparency and accountability while supporting the target review and update process. As captured in the SBTi Commitment and Target Statuses document, existing statuses on the Target Dashboard – ‘Committed’, ‘Commitment Removed’, and ‘Targets Set’ – will be expanded with new sub-statuses including whether commitments and targets are active, extended, updated, expired, inactive, withdrawn or archived. This update is expected to be reflected on the Target Dashboard after December 18, 2025, when the document takes effect and supersedes the current Commitment Compliance Policy.
More details about both documents can be found on the SBTi website.
Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Chief Technical Officer at SBTi, said:
“The target update process is an important mechanism to ensure consistency in science-based target setting over time. It helps ensure that targets remain aligned with the latest climate science and best practice. These new guidance documents provide companies with the clarity and tools needed to navigate the target update process and reinforce the credibility and consistency of the SBTi framework.”