What are Science Based Targets (SBTi)?
Science-based targets are corporate emissions reduction targets in line with climate science. The SBTi sets the standards and validates them.
Why it matters
The Science Based Targets initiative is a corporate climate action organisation, founded as a collaboration between CDP, the UN Global Compact, We Mean Business Coalition, WRI and WWF. It publishes free standards, tools and guidance, and its subsidiary SBTi Services validates company targets. Setting a target is voluntary.
There are two main target types. Near-term targets cover emissions reductions over the next 5 to 10 years. Net-zero targets need immediate action alongside long-term plans to reach net zero by 2050 or earlier. Most companies use the cross-sector pathway, while some heavy-emitting sectors must use sector-specific criteria.
An example
A company with a validated near-term target sees its cloud and AI use grow quickly. In some environments Greenpixie sees, AI inference volume is doubling. Without guardrails, that growth can push cloud carbon past targets the organisation has already committed to, even while other parts of the business cut emissions.
Where Greenpixie fits
Greenpixie's cloud methodology lists reduction target setting among the intended uses of its outputs. Line-item cloud emissions data shows which services, regions and teams drive the trend, so reductions can be planned where they will count. The same data supports cloud region and service selection, so new workloads can be placed with the target in mind.
Daily enrichment makes progress visible during the year, instead of only at reporting time. Usage emissions are reported on a location-based basis and should be read that way when tracked against a target.