500 companies scaled back climate targets

According to data from the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTI), about 500 companies have withdrawn their commitment to set scientific climate targets, reported newspaper De Standaard. The list includes six Belgian companies, among them Belfius, Infrabel and Vandemoortele.

The Science Based Target Initiative was set up in the wake of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to help companies set science-based climate targets and monitor their progress, to thus stop the proliferation of empty climate promises and greenwashing. More than 9,150 companies jumped on the bandwagon in recent years by committing to at least vetting their operations and setting targets.

The SBTI requires companies to reduce not only emissions of their installations, but also emissions from the electricity they use, as well as emissions from suppliers and from the use of goods or services supplied. It’s not enough to promise to be climate neutral by 2050, they also have to meet concrete interim targets.

As those initial milestones come into view, many companies notice how high ambitions sometimes clash with the reality. Already about 500 companies withdrew their commitment to the short-term goals or were removed by the SBTI itself, among them six Belgian companies.

But that doesn’t mean they are letting go of their climate ambitions, the Belgian companies responded to De Standaard. According to them, the SBTI's rules would sometimes be too rigid, leading them to choose their own path. Belfius, for instance, argues that the SBTI focuses only on climate, while the state-owned bank also wants to contribute to a “just” transition.

“According to the SBTI target, we should reduce the carbon intensity of our residential loans by more than half by 2030,” said a spokesperson of Belfius. “This is very difficult, given the poor energy performance of Belgian buildings. If we would only finance the purchase of properties with the best energy performance, this would be at the expense of the most modest households.”

Food group Vandemoortele in turn had to withdraw its commitment when the rules around the use of biogas were changed, but is looking at how it can adapt.

^{Two men are holding a banner during a demonstration in the Netherlands to demand a fair climate policy, on 31 May 2024 © BELGA PHOTO Ana Fernandez/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire}