What are Science Based Targets?

Science-based targets provide companies with a clearly-defined path to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals. More than 4,000 businesses around the world are already working with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

Science-based targets provide a clearly-defined pathway for companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, helping prevent the worst impacts of climate change and future-proof business growth.

Targets are considered ‘science-based’ if they are in line with what the latest climate science deems necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The private sector must play a fundamental role in reducing GHG emissions. Embedding science-based targets in sustainability management is crucial.

Setting a science-based target is a five-step process:

1. Commit: submit a letter establishing your intent to set a science-based target
2. Develop: work on an emissions reduction target in line with the SBTi’s criteria
3. Submit: present your target to the SBTi for official validation
4. Communicate: announce your target and inform your stakeholders
5. Disclose: report company-wide emissions and track target progress annually

Companies going through the target validation process benefit from detailed feedback and support from the SBTi’s technical experts. Businesses who sign the SBTi commitment letter are immediately recognized as “Committed” on the SBTi website, as well as the CDP, UN Global Compact and We Mean Business websites.

Our Targets

We are committed to helping fight the climate crisis through genuine actions to reduce our emissions, from ensuring our distribution centres generate and use renewable electricity, to cutting the distance our products travel and switching to deliveries by road or sea rather than air. And by working with our suppliers to offer customers products that save energy and reduce the carbon footprint of their operations. 

It is our ambition at RS Group to reach net zero in our direct operations by 2030 and across our value chain by 2050. We are uniting the whole of RS, our 1.1 million customers and 2,500+ suppliers behind this goal, to develop and implement scalable solutions that lead to genuine emissions reductions.

We have set four science-based targets covering our most important emissions areas - operations, logistics, products and suppliers. These targets and supporting initiatives drive the organisation’s decarbonisation approach and support the target to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Following extensive engagement and a thorough validation process, the SBTi has validated our four near-term climate reduction targets as science based.

These include:

• Reducing absolute Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 75%*
• Reducing Scope 3 transport emissions by 25% per tonne of product sold*
• Reducing Scope 3 emissions from the use of RS PRO products by 20% per tonne of products sold*
• Committing that 67% of suppliers (by spend) covering purchased goods and services will set science-based targets by 2024/2025

The Company is already making good progress against these targets with a 58% reduction in direct carbon emissions (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) since 2019/20, achieved by switching to renewable electricity, energy management in our distribution centres and the adoption of electric vehicles into our company car fleet. Furthermore, last year we launched our Better World product range in 15 markets, to help customers make more sustainable product choices, save energy, and cut their operational emissions.

Andrea Barrett , VP of Social Responsibility and Sustainability at RS Group said: “The SBTi validation is an important landmark in our 2030 environmental, social and governance (ESG) action plan – For a Better World. RS Group is one the first global providers of industrial product and service solutions to achieve this milestone, giving our stakeholders real confidence that we are committed to driving emissions reductions and progressing towards net zero.

“Of course, setting the targets is easy in comparison to the journey ahead, but we have a brilliant team assembled who are driving towards results – helping RS and our customers and suppliers achieve their climate goals.”

The SBTi classifies targets against the long-term temperature pathways of well below 2°C and 1.5°C. The SBTi’s Target Validation Team classified our Scope 1 and 2 target ambition in line with a 1.5°C trajectory – the most ambitious designation available through the SBTi process.

Learn more at: https://www.rsgroup.com/sustainability/