Impakter
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Society Science

Can Science-based Targets Truly Guide Sustainable Development?

byMax Opray - Content Specialist for Metabolic
April 16, 2019
in Science, SDG Series
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

What lines can we not afford to cross when it comes to our impact on the planet? As the world races to achieve the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, it is vital that the pursuit of sustainable development is undertaken within the absolute limits of what the earth can support.  

For answers, many are turning to science-based targets, which are already being employed in the effort to reduce carbon emissions. A range of collaborators including the UN Global Compact are behind the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which has introduced quantifiable targets based on sound science. It has been adopted by 169 major corporations in order to tackle climate change. Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact has linked science-based targets to the realization of SDG 13 (Combatting Climate Change).

However, carbon emissions are just one of the many ways in which humans impact the environment. Genuine sustainable development thereby needs to avoid endangering other crucial planetary life support systems, such as biodiversity, soil nutrients, and freshwater. Where the SDGs can provide a vision of a world in which both the human and natural ecosystems thrive, science-based targets can quantify what this world looks like in practice. 

Last year, Future Earth Executive Director Amy Luers described the development of broader science-based targets as the “missing link” in achieving the SDGs, while Greenbiz Chairman and Executive Editor Joel Makower facilitated a workshop on the best ways to develop science-based targets for other SDGs at the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit. The Science-Based Targets Network has formed to develop a framework and goals for a range of environmental challenges.

A range of initiatives are underway to advance science-based targets in other areas, including a project commissioned by WWF NL and plant-based food and drink producer Alpro to develop methodologies for setting science-based targets for biodiversity, water, land use and soil nutrients via a pilot project with Alpro’s almond and soy supply chains. A consortium of research institutes coordinated by sustainability experts, Metabolic worked with WWF NL and Alpro on the project.

In the Photo: The project analyzed Alpro’s entire supply chain for their almond drink, with particular focus on the farms. Photo Credit: Metabolic.
In the Photo: The project compared the impact of organic farms versus conventional farms with varying levels of irrigation. Photo Credit: Metabolic.

Metabolic sustainability consultant Brian Shaw said that the project could help address the synergies and trade-offs between SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), which will require a rise in food production, and SDG 15 (Life on Land), which aims to protect natural ecosystems. “Using science-based targets, we can understand what a landscape needs to be able to function as an ecosystem, which gives a clear indication of the space we have to farm and produce the material we need,” he said. “Science-based targets provide a pathway to optimise SDGs in a limited planetary space.” 

In the Photo: The handover of the report in Amsterdam. Pictured (from right to left): WWF NL Project Leader Jorien van Hoogen, Metabolic Sustainability Consultant Brian James Shaw, Alpro Senior Sustainable Development Manager Greet Vanderheyden, and Metabolic CEO Eva Gladek. Photo Credit: Metabolic.

By closely examining a business’s impact in the context of the nine planetary boundaries the world cannot afford to cross, the path to sustainable development becomes clearer. One key outtake from the study included how Alpro’s almond farms could capitalize on their location near Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecosystem types that are under threat globally by introducing measures on its farms to create corridors of biodiversity that increase connectivity with surrounding natural habitats. Other findings include how organic farms that perform well on water and nutrient depletion could improve their footprint on land by increasing irrigation or alternative forms of fertiliser use.


Editor’s Picks – Related Articles: 

“Science for Good: A New Breed of Entrepreneurs with Science-Based Solutions for a Positive Impact”

 

“An Enabler to SDGs’ Attainment: Linking Science with Human Rights“

 

 


By developing science-based targets that entreprises can apply to their business models, we can more clearly define what work needs to be done in order to achieve the SDGs. We can realize SDG 1 (Ending Poverty) and 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) without threatening the objectives of SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), which make up the planetary life support systems necessary for our survival. 


EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: A study examined Alpro’s almond and soy drink supply chains. — Featured Photo Credit: Metabolic.
Tags: AlprobiodiversitybusinessClimate ChangeEcosystemEnvironmentenvironmental sustainabilityfarmsGigiMetabolicSciencescience-based targetsSDGs
Previous Post

Re-Designing Refugee Camps

Next Post

ASX: Building the Next Generation of Sustainable VTOLs

Max Opray - Content Specialist for Metabolic

Max Opray - Content Specialist for Metabolic

Max Opray is a content specialist with sustainability consultants at Metabolic. Based in Amsterdam, Metabolic helps businesses, governments and non-profits find innovative ways to tackle global sustainability challenges and advance the circular economy.

Related Posts

AI in research
AI & MACHINE LEARNING

Recognising and Embracing AI in Research

June 23, 2025
Climate Misinformation
Climate Change

Eight of the Top 10 Online Shows Are Spreading Climate Misinformation

May 9, 2025
vaccines dementia
Health

Could Vaccines for Viruses Lower the Risk of Dementia?

May 5, 2025
Next Post
ASX: Building the Next Generation of Sustainable VTOLs

ASX: Building the Next Generation of Sustainable VTOLs

Please login to join discussion

Recent News

ESG news regarding UK abandoning green taxonomy for sustainability reporting, South Africa energy company Eskom switching to mainly clean energy, fish populations increasing in EU, and China’s increased focus on AI technologies

UK Drops Green Taxonomy Plan, Shifts Focus to Sustainability Reporting

July 16, 2025
refuse-derived fuel

This Fuel Is 50% Plastic — and It’s Slipping Through a Loophole in International Waste Law

July 16, 2025
Brazil’s Carbon Credit Schemes Linked to Illegal Logging

Brazil’s Carbon Credit Schemes Linked to Illegal Logging

July 16, 2025

Impakter informs you through the ESG news site and empowers your business CSRD compliance and ESG compliance with its Klimado SaaS ESG assessment tool marketplace that can be found on: www.klimado.com

Registered Office Address

Klimado GmbH
Niddastrasse 63,

60329, Frankfurt am Main, Germany


IMPAKTER is a Klimado GmbH website

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

By Audience

  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & MACHINE LEARNING
    • Green Tech
  • ENVIRONMENT
    • Biodiversity
    • Energy
    • Circular Economy
    • Climate Change
  • INDUSTRY NEWS
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
    • Editorial Series

ESG/Finance Daily

  • ESG News
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Business

Klimado Platform

  • Klimado ESG Tool
  • Impakter News

About Us

  • Team
  • Global Leaders
  • Partners
  • Write for Impakter
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© 2025 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Shape Your Future
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy

© 2024 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.