The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) announced today that it has passed a new milestone, with the number of companies with validated science-based climate targets passing 10,000.
The achievement marks significant growth for the organization, with more than 2,800 new companies validated in 2025, and the total number of validated companies increasing nearly 40% from around 7,200 in early 2025, and from approximately 4,200 in 2023.
The SBTi was founded in 2015 with the goal to establish science-based environmental target setting as a standard corporate practice. The organizations’ key functions include defining and promoting best practice in emissions reductions and net-zero targets in line with climate science, providing technical assistance to companies who set science-based targets, and providing companies with independent assessment and validation of their emissions reduction targets.
The organization’s flagship first Corporate Net-Zero Standard was published in 2021, and the SBTi is currently in the process of updating the standard, recently releasing its draft Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.
The SBTi’s 10,000 company milestone comes as the organization faces increasing political scrutiny in the U.S., including a recently announced investigation into the organization, alongside environmental disclosure platform CDP, by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier into alleged potential antitrust violations and deceptive trade practices. Additionally, 23 U.S. State Attorneys General recently sent a letter to the SBTi demanding information about the organization and its members, citing concerns about potential violations of antitrust, consumer protection and other laws, with a particular focus on its new financial sector standard, and its requirements for financial companies to pull back on funding for fossil fuel activities.
According to the SBTi, companies with validated targets now represent more than 40% of global market capitalization, and span those headquartered in more than 90 countries, across a broad range of sectors and company sizes.
The organization noted that growth in the number of Asian companies with validated targets has been particularly strong, with Japan now having the highest number of validated companies at over 2,000, followed by the UK, U.S. and China, although it noted that overall, European-headquartered companies still make up a substantial share of the total.
SBTi CEO David Kennedy said:
“Companies are setting science based targets because they recognize the strategic, reputational, and financial benefits of net-zero business transformation. This milestone reflects a growing commitment by companies to set credible, accountable targets, and we look forward to supporting many more as this transition continues.”
