Winrock International joins Science Based Targets Network
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS – April 10, 2025 − Winrock International is pleased to announce it is now an official NGO Partner of the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) and has joined the SBTN’s Corporate Engagement Program and Referral List. Joining the SBTN enables Winrock to expand the reach of its technical assistance and validation services in ecosystems and natural resources management to companies and others looking to develop science-based targets to operate within planetary boundaries — not just for climate, but also for nature.
The SBTN is a global coalition of organizations and an extension of the well-known Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which focuses specifically on corporate climate action. It provides guidance, tools, and methodologies for businesses to set science-based targets across multiple environmental areas, including: climate (reducing greenhouse gas emissions); freshwater (protecting and restoring water systems); land (preventing deforestation and promoting sustainable land use); biodiversity (protecting ecosystems and species); and oceans (reducing pollution and overfishing).
“Joining the Science Based Targets Network as an NGO Partner is important, because SBTN helps businesses align with global goals like the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” said Julie Nash, Winrock’s director of Ecosystem Services. “SBTN provides a credible, science-based approach for companies to reduce their environmental impact and encourages systemic change by integrating climate and nature into corporate strategies.”
Winrock provides technical assistance and validation to companies to complete the first three steps in the SBTN framework, including: 1) Assessing company impacts and dependencies on nature and understanding opportunities for nature positive actions in supply chains; 2) interpreting and prioritizing activities, including setting targets for protecting nature and biodiversity that reflect the unique activities and geographic locations where they work; and 3) measuring, setting and disclosing targets for freshwater and land, including calculating and establishing baselines for how company activities impact hydrological systems and land use change within natural areas.
Steve Brunn, Winrock’s senior director for Private Sector Engagement, said: “Winrock already has deep experience and expertise supporting corporations with assessing and achieving their GHG emission reduction and net zero goals, as well as improving human rights in their supply chains. By joining SBTN, we are now able to combine our long history of protecting and improving ecological systems with our ability to support businesses and other organizations to develop and meet science-based targets.”
Winrock is experienced in providing services to some of the world’s best-known companies and front-runners in GHG emissions mitigation efforts, such as Nestlé, McCormick and Microsoft. Additionally, Winrock leverages its deep knowledge and expertise to contribute its thought leadership to voluntary standards and initiatives like the GHG Protocol, SBTi, VCMI, Value Chain Initiative and the AIM Platform.
For companies with additional regenerative agriculture and nature targets or strategies, Winrock can provide technical advisory and project validation support across an organization’s Key Performance Indicators, either as a standalone service or an add-on to our climate advisory and validation services.
An integrated approach can help drive efficiency and alignment in engaging suppliers and program participants across broader sustainability objectives.
The SBTN is part of the Global Commons Alliance and works alongside organizations like CDP (an independent environmental disclosure system), World Resources Institute, the World Wildlife Fund, and the U.N. Global Compact. It collaborates closely with SBTi to ensure companies take a holistic approach to sustainability. SBTN launched its first guidance for setting nature-related targets in 2023, helping companies take measurable action on water, land and biodiversity, in addition to climate.