Science Based Targets (SBTi) for Seafood Companies

Science-based targets are emissions reduction goals a company sets and has independently validated against what climate science indicates is necessary to limit global warming to a defined threshold, most commonly aligned with the Paris Agreement's 1.5 C or well-below-2 C pathways, through the Science Based Targets initiative's sector-specific methodology, giving a target external credibility beyond a company's own self-determined, potentially less ambitious internal climate goal. Seafood and aquaculture companies setting science-based targets face a structural challenge most other sectors do not share in the same form: since Scope 3 feed-related emissions typically dominate the total footprint, a genuinely science-based target cannot be met through operational efficiency improvements alone and generally requires engaging feed suppliers and ingredient sourcing decisions directly, meaning target-setting for an aquaculture company is substantially a feed-supply-chain exercise rather than only a farm-operations exercise. Target validation requires submitting a detailed emissions inventory and reduction plan for independent technical review, and approved targets are publicly listed, creating a verifiable, externally auditable commitment that functions differently from an unvalidated voluntary pledge a company could adjust or abandon without external scrutiny. Progress against validated targets is typically tracked and disclosed annually, and companies found to be materially off-track from their committed trajectory face reputational consequences from the gap between public commitment and demonstrated performance, which has made maintaining credible progress, not just the initial target announcement, the harder and more consequential ongoing commitment.