Atlantic is excited to announce that the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has approved our science-based targets for reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2046!
Atlantic Packaging is the first North American packaging company with an approved net-zero target.
Atlantic’s Approved Science-Based Targets
Overall Net-Zero Target:
- Atlantic commits to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 2046, which is Atlantic’s 100th birthday.
Near-Term Targets:
- Atlantic commits to reduce Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions 70% by 2030, from a 2021 base year.
- Atlantic also commits that 55% of its suppliers by spend, covering purchased goods and services, will have science-based targets by 2027.
- Atlantic further commits to reduce 25% of its Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions from purchased goods and services by 2030, from a 2021 base year.
Long-Term Targets:
- Atlantic commits to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 2046.
- Atlantic commits to reduce Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions 90% by 2046, from a 2021 base year.
Why It Matters to Our Customers
By taking drastic action to mitigate climate change, Atlantic is paving the way for the global supply chain to follow suit. Because Atlantic’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions represent our customers’ Scope 3 emissions, reducing and eventually eliminating our emissions will help our customers to reduce theirs. As such, Atlantic’s science-based targets directly benefit our customers in their own emissions reduction goals.
About Science-Based Targets
In 2015, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement helped governments around the world commit to limiting global temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. This agreement represented some of the significant global cooperation on climate change made to date.
The necessary reductions to limit the warming are dramatic: as a global community, we need to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in half by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. The latest climate science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – described by the UN as “code red for humanity” – shows it is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C, but we are dangerously close to that threshold.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) emerged as a collaboration between CDP, The United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to help the private sector take aggressive climate action. SBTi helps companies determine how much and how quickly they need to reduce emissions. As the name suggests, science-based targets are validated, data-driven commitments showing that a company is doing its part to reach net zero in line with the Paris Agreement.
Science-based targets are considered the gold standard in corporate climate action because of the level of validation and the kind of climate action required. SBTi’s net-zero actions focus more on the “zero” and less on the “net” – many companies have relied heavily on carbon offsets to reduce their footprint, which allows them to largely continue business as usual in their operations and supply chain. SBTi has strict requirements that only 10% of net-zero reductions can be achieved through offsets, meaning that companies with science-based targets must truly reduce their operational and supply chain emissions to meet their goals.
Additionally, Atlantic’s goals include a commitment that 55% of our suppliers will have science-based targets by 2027. Our suppliers’ emissions fall under our Scope 3 emissions, and so encouraging our suppliers to take climate actions will directly benefit our own reduction goals. Over the last few years, Atlantic has helped some of our suppliers begin their climate journey through the Supplier Leadership on Climate Transitions (S-LoCT) program, which teaches suppliers how to measure, reduce, and set reductions goals for emissions. We’re excited to continue helping other suppliers start this work as well: only with aggressive, collective corporate action can we limit global temperature rise.
Atlantic submitted our science-based targets to SBTi in the Spring of 2022. After a rigorous review process that took almost a year, the SBTi has approved our science-based targets!
Definitions
Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi):
- The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a global body enabling businesses to set ambitious emissions reduction targets in line with the latest climate science. It is focused on assisting companies across the world in halving their emissions before 2030 and meeting the goal of net-zero emissions before 2050.
Net-Zero Emissions:
- “Net-zero” generally means that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions created and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions removed from the atmosphere are equal, resulting in no net increase of atmospheric greenhouse gas.
- The SBTi’s definition takes the term “net-zero” a step further. Their standard for corporate net-zero targets, in line with keeping global warming to 1.5°C, require rapid and deep emission reductions. Companies must take action to halve their emissions by around 2030. Likewise, long-term deep emission cuts of at least 90% before 2050 are crucial for net-zero targets to align with science.
- In other words, companies must reduce their emissions by 90%, and only the final 10% can be abated through mechanisms such as some types of offsets. This is why science-based targets are seen as focusing more on the “zero” part of “net-zero” versus the “net” part.
Emission Scopes:
Scope 1:
- Scope 1 emissions are greenhouse gases that a business creates directly from sources that it controls or owns. These types of emissions come from vehicles, boilers, furnaces, and refrigerants.
Scope 2:
- Scope 2 emissions occur during the purchase of energy produced by power plants. When a business purchases electricity, or other forms of power, this counts toward its Scope 2 emissions.
Scope 3:
- Scope 3 emissions are produced both upstream and downstream in the value chain. Upstream emissions are related to products and services a business purchases, employee commuting, and business travel. Downstream emissions result from the distribution of products or services by a business and emissions associated with the disposal of products by consumers. Scope 3 emissions are the largest source of emissions for businesses.