The "Why" of Target Setting

Dana Jennings

Associate Director

North America

Jonathan Oon

Associate Director

United Kingdom

Table of Contents

• What You Need to Know
• What to Do Next
• How Anthesis Can Help
• Contact Us

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If there’s one element that holds true in corporate sustainability, it is that change is always present. In 2025 alone, we have witnessed a shift in key regulations, a change in political headwinds, and the release of updated frameworks such as the SBTi’s draft  version 2.0 of the corporate net-zero standard.

In light of these shifts, some companies are considering not pursuing SBTi validation for their targets, downshifting their target ambition, or altogether abandoning their climate commitments. Other businesses, meanwhile, still perceive targets to be a necessary part of securing future resiliency and are doubling down.

Amid all this change, how can you feel confident in setting or maintaining your climate reduction targets?

What You Need to Know

At Anthesis, we have seen several examples of climate targets driving action and accountability within organisations.

case study

Setting Net Zero Goals for Ecolab

case study

Validating SBTi Net Zero Targets for LIPTON Teas & Infusions

And we’re not alone in our finding. According to the SBTi, companies with SBTs have successfully reduced their emissions by 25%, contrasting with an increase of 3.4% in global emissions from energy and industrial processes over the same period. Perhaps this is why the number of companies with SBTs continues to grow, breaking over 6,000 in 2024.

Additionally, companies are being asked to set targets by their large customers, such as Microsoft, Salesforce, and Astra Zeneca, along with government organisations. This growing trend is also reflected in the 24% year-over-year increase of the number of large scale purchasers asking suppliers to report environmental data.

These statistics indicate that setting a climate target is still good for business.

What You Should Do Next

So how do you get leadership’s buy-in to set a target, or refresh an existing one? It’s all about building the business case.

Key steps to building the business case for target setting include:

• Talking with your sales teams to collect data on how many of your clients are asking your organisation to reduce emissions.
• Discussing with Procurement how driving efficiency and improving supplier relationships will both reduce emissions and improve business value.
• Brainstorming how new, sustainable products may spur innovation, expand customer reach, and drive progress toward a target.

Once your leadership is on board to set a target, you will need to design the target that is the right fit for your business. This can be based on your business growth strategy as well as consideration of your peers, your stakeholders, and your customers. For example, a high growth company may opt for a Scope 3 intensity-based target, while a large company with a few very large suppliers may choose a supplier engagement target.

In an upcoming insight piece, Melissa Donnelly and Drummond Lawson will discuss how targets and climate action should fit into a business’ overall strategy.

How Anthesis Can Help

At Anthesis, we work with clients of all industries and sizes on their target setting journey. For companies in the early stages, we help them build the stakeholder environment and business case to set and deliver a target, as well as to design the best fit target for them. For those further along in their journeys, we partner together on target submission and validation, decarbonisation road mapping, and building out corporate governance structures to support progress. To date, Anthesis has helped over 70 companies receive SBTi validated targets.