The new SBTi guidance carries several direct implications for companies with existing or planned science-based targets: 

• Continuous Alignment: Businesses with validated targets must now commit to a mandatory five-year review. This ensures their decarbonization efforts and targets continuously align with the latest scientific criteria, requiring ongoing monitoring and potential adjustments. 

• Enhanced Accountability: The updated SBTi Target Dashboard will provide clearer classifications of companies’ engagement statuses. This means greater transparency regarding a company’s active participation (or lack thereof) in the SBTi system, increasing public scrutiny and stakeholder insight into their commitments. 

• Increased Transparency and Credibility: Adhering to these new review processes and updated classifications will significantly boost the transparency and credibility of a company’s climate strategies, thereby strengthening stakeholder confidence in their climate commitments. 

• Strategic Planning for Reviews: Companies should strategically plan for these mandatory reviews, utilizing available extension options (e.g., aligning reviews with future target years within a 24-month window or applying for an 18-month extension if sector-specific standards are expected) where relevant to optimize their target management. 

Continuous efforts and mandates like these are designed to reinforce the credibility of corporate climate strategies and foster greater stakeholder confidence in the commitments being made. By mandating regular reviews and improving transparency, the SBTi continues to drive ambitious and science-aligned climate action across the global business landscape.