🎓 Ensuring that you got the boundary of your calculated emissions right, helps you to set realistic targets and achieve your sustainability goals.
To help you make an informed decision on your target setting, we have put together a step-by-step guide for you:
Step 1: Determine your current decarbonisation ambition
Step 1: Determine your current decarbonisation ambition
Your company’s decarbonisation ambition can be influenced by many factors and therefore has a direct impact on your reduction journey. For example, it can be influenced by an ‘obligatory’ target (such as a company that is required to set a target on certain Scopes if they have decided to set science-based targets); reputation motives (a company has committed to or aims to commit to a reduction on certain Scopes); business strategy (a company has identified that setting targets for certain Scopes is well aligned with their business); etc. Therefore, it is important to understand: how far do I want to go in my upcoming decarbonisation journey?
Uncertain about whether your decarbonisation goals will remain consistent in the coming years? Don't worry, decarbonisation doesn't always follow a straight path. It's crucial to maintain transparency by regularly communicating your decisions to relevant stakeholders.
Step 2: Understand what it takes to set a Science-based target
Step 2: Understand what it takes to set a Science-based target
If you choose to set science-based targets, it is important to understand your obligation. And if you choose to have your SBTs validated by the SBTi, know that The SBTi has different target-setting rules for different companies, depending on their size and emissions profile.
For example, under SBTi guidance, SMEs are not required to set Scope 3 targets for near-term targets, but financial institutions, non-SMEs and companies involved in the sale or distribution of natural gas and/or other fossil fuels are obliged to set Scope 3 targets.
For more information, please consult “SBTi Criteria and Recommendations”.
Disclaimer: Science-Based Target (SBT) is a way to define emissions reduction targets, while the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi) is a joint initiative that validates corporate emission reduction targets. Corporate emission reduction through the SBTi can be achieved through the following methods:
Absolute contraction approach (Valid for any company/industry)
Sectoral Decarbonisation approach
At Plan A, We exclusively use the absolute contraction method for our SBT approach. Although Plan A’s target setting method is based on the SBTi guidelines, we do not have any affiliation with the validation process of SBTi.
Step 3: Confirm your calculated emission categories
Step 3: Confirm your calculated emission categories
Once you’ve determined how far you’d like to go on the decarbonisation journey, it is time to do a final check on your materiality decisions and make sure that all relevant emission categories are calculated properly (ideally without the use of national averages).
Please note that some categories, if they are relevant to your organisation, require you to upload emissions obtained by a third party (Bring Your Own Emission) or a through consulting services. To find out more about consulting services, please get in contact with your Customer Success Manager or Customer Support.
By confirming your covered emission categories, you can ensure that your baseline year emissions are reliable and aligned with your decarbonisation goal.