Make 2026 count: What to stop, start and continue this year, informed by SBTi v2

January is a time when people take stock of if things are working on not. And let’s be honest, decarbonisation is not working.

Only 10% of companies are making headway on their sustainability commitments (World Economic Forum). The other 90% aren't failing because they lack ambition, they’re trying their hardest to measure and report, switching scores of suppliers to renewables or running workshops. Yet, on average they need to accelerate 20x to meet targets (PwC).

So where's the breakdown? Companies have doubled down on carbon accounting, measuring and reporting to prove they're aware. But ambition doesn’t translate into action. Despite investment in teams and resources, it's still common for companies to falter when it comes to cutting Scope 3 emissions. It’s not a data volume problem. It’s a data utility problem. It's a strategy problem. The status quo is holding businesses back and needs to be reset.

While 90% of companies are stuck measuring, leaders who crack the strategy problem will pull ahead on cost, efficiency, and competitive positioning, not just on emissions targets.

Decarbonisation done right isn't a compliance exercise. It's business transformation that cuts waste, unlocks savings, and builds resilient supply chains. This is your chance to lead while others are still figuring out what to measure.

So then the questions become: how can we get ahead and what needs to change? To the first question, the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is setting a new standard with its Version 2 draft defining what good looks like. To the second, read through the different actions we recommend below, you’ll recognise where you need to stop, start and continue. If your business acts now it will become a market leader.

Stop: Treating Measurement as Progress

Let's call it what it is: current approaches aren’t working.

• Stop buying carbon accounting software that will calculate your footprint but can't tell you specifically where to cut it.
• Stop waiting to get exhaustive data before you act. You can make huge changes in your supply chain without waiting to get minutiae.
• Stop spending six months collecting supplier data that goes into a report no one acts on.
• Stop letting poor supplier engagement get in the way of progress. When response rates are 20% and the data is guesswork, your time is better used elsewhere.
• Stop assuming more measurement equals more progress. The companies with the most sophisticated carbon accounting often aren't the ones cutting emissions deepest.

The scoreboard doesn't lie: In March 2024, SBTi removed 239 major corporations, including Microsoft, Walmart, and Unilever, for failing to deliver. Not one company assessed by Sustainalytics has a transition plan actually aligned to net zero.

SBTi Version 2 cuts through the noise. It demands transition plans with clear pathways to reduction and continuous improvement tracking to prove you're actually moving. This is credible recognition that measurement without action is set to become outdated.

It's time to act...

Start: Changing How Products Are Made

This is the real paradigm shift: change how products are manufactured, not what they are. Make granular process-level interventions that eliminate emissions at source, both in your own facilities and across your supply chain.

• Start decarbonising with fundamentals. Circularity, material efficiency, and energy efficiency build better products at lower cost with lower emissions. Companies optimising these fundamentals improve margins, strengthen supply chains, and reduce emissions simultaneously.
• Start giving suppliers real reasons to engage. When you help your suppliers become demonstrably more sustainable it helps them win more work. Everyone wins when the supply chain becomes more efficient.
• Start reframing decarbonisation as an opportunity for important business value, not a compliance burden.

Most of your emissions live in your supply chain. But you’ll rarely see how your suppliers actually manufacture components, and they won't tell you. Industry-average emission factors hide the reality so you need systems that anticipate how suppliers are producing compared to best practice, then track changes dynamically as your supply chain evolves.

That requires:

• Visibility into actual manufacturing processes across your supply chain; real process intelligence like whether the steel you’re using is recycled or produced with a blast furnace.
• Identification of specific production changes that reduce both emissions and costs.
• Dynamic tracking that updates as suppliers change processes, switch materials, or optimise operations.

Why you should start now and not wait:

SBTi Version 2 adoption starts in 2028. Most companies will wait. That creates a multi-year window where early movers secure decisive advantages. When low-carbon suppliers become scarce and expensive, companies with established relationships win. The global low-carbon economy will reach £7 trillion by 2030 — the early movers positioning now are set to dominate by then.

Every excess tonne of CO₂ is wasted money. Wasted energy. Excess material. Inefficient process design. Companies that eliminate emissions at source reduce costs, improve margins, and build supply chain resilience against energy price volatility.

The companies treating sustainability as a cost centre have it back-to-front. When procurement finds low-carbon suppliers, they're finding suppliers with better process control, lower costs, and greater resilience. When sustainability teams map supply chain emissions, they're revealing operational inefficiencies that directly hit margins.

Continue: Building Intelligence That Drives Action

The companies succeeding in decarbonisation aren't the ones with the most data, they're the ones with the right data and the intelligence to act on it. If your current approach is driving real process improvements and operational cost reductions— double down.

• Continue to prioritise strategically. Focus on making the most effective changes possible, it’s likely 20% of your products are driving 80% of your emissions.  Keep chasing the data that reveals process inefficiency, material waste, and energy excess.
• Continue to deepen connections with suppliers who are engaged.
• Keep reminding suppliers that they'll win more tenders if they are demonstrably sustainable.
• Continue to focus on data quality. Generic emission factors don't allow you to procure sustainably: they hide which suppliers are efficient and which are wasteful. Track real manufacturing processes to identify suppliers worth investing in.

Keep going, the market is shifting toward solutions that change manufacturing, not solutions that calculate emissions more precisely.

The Opportunity Is Now

Most companies will spend 2026 doing more of what didn't work: more measurement, more reports, more drift or even worse, taking their foot off the pedal. But tomorrow's winners will act now and treat decarbonisation as continuous improvements in operational efficiency where sustainability isn't separate from business performance.

Change how products are made. Give suppliers intelligence they can use. Track real processes, not generic averages.

SBTi Version 2 doesn't kick in until 2028. Companies moving now will lock in the best suppliers and lowest costs before everyone else realises they need to catch up.

You can lead while there's still an advantage in it, or you can wait and pay the premium later.

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