SDSN Joins the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN)

Paris, December, 2019 – The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has now become a partner organization of the Science Based Target Networks (SBTN) . As part of the Global Commons Alliance, SBTN’s ambition is to define what it means to maintain the stability of the whole Earth system, to provide pathways for companies and cities to thrive in this state of balance with the planet; and to engage key leaders and the broader public in transforming our economic systems to maintain a safe operating space for life on planet Earth.

The private sector, cities, and financial institutions can influence, in positive ways, the trajectory of the primary drivers of environmental change on our planet due to human activities. SBTN acknowledges the need to develop methods and guidance on science-based target setting – similar to climate – for water, land, oceans and biodiversity that enable non-state actors to complement governments in implementing positive change on the ground.

By joining SBTN, SDSN demonstrates our commitment to developing methods and resources to enable companies and cities to set science-based targets for the interrelated “systems” of freshwater, biodiversity, land, and the ocean across their value chains.

The first step will be to take part in a prototyping session where scientific expertise of the Earth Commission, business acumen of the Science Based Targets Network, and narrative-shaping by EarthHQ will come together. This workshop will develop a prototype for a science-based approach for cities and companies toward a global biodiversity goal, including both science-based targets and a user engagement for delivering them.

We are part of an alliance that will complement national and subnational actions to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals.

About the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN):

SBTN aims at creating a new global economy in which science defines how companies and cities can operate in environmentally sustainable ways to restore balance to the Earth’s systems.

Companies are already future-proofing growth by setting science-based climate targets specifying how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through the Science Based Targets initiative. Building off the success of the Science Based Targets initiative and in response to business demand to set targets for the whole Earth system, a group of organizations have come together to form the Science Based Targets Network.

For more information, visit http://sciencebasedtargetsnetwork.org/

About the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN):

The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) mobilizes scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society, and the private sector to support practical problem solving for sustainable development at local, national, and global scales. The SDSN has been operating since 2012 under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General. The SDSN is building national and regional networks of knowledge institutions, solution-focused thematic networks, and the SDG Academy , an online university for sustainable development.