Two years after the first corporate science-based targets for nature went live in 2023, the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) has released version 2.0 of the framework, rebuilt around one admission: companies do not have perfect data, and waiting for it is no longer an option.

The update covers target setting and implementation across land, freshwater and oceans. It responds directly to problems early adopters reported — imperfect data, limited traceability and complex value chains — with revised methods, guidance and tools, and a heavier emphasis on actually executing the targets rather than merely filing them.

What changes in the framework?

The headline shift is flexibility. SBTN 2.0 introduces multiple pathways to validation, letting companies choose routes that match their readiness, data quality and traceability. New options include focused scopes, supplier engagement targets and stepwise validation — a structure that acknowledges a mining major and a food processor do not start from the same place.

Coverage also widens. Freshwater quality methods now extend to pesticide-related impacts, and land methods gain new routes for working land regeneration and restoration, plus specific routes for mining, infrastructure, construction and extractives. The sectors that dig and build finally get their own doors into the system.

Science Based Targets Network CEO Erin Billman said: "Nature loss is accelerating, and companies cannot afford to wait for perfect data, perfect visibility, or perfect conditions before they act. Science-Based Targets for Nature 2.0 gives companies a pragmatic way to move now — focusing effort where it matters most, while maintaining the scientific rigor and accountability needed for action to be credible."

Pragmatism with guardrails, in other words. The network has chosen to lower the entry ramp rather than lower the standard.

Who is behind it, and why does it matter?

SBTN launched in 2019 with founding partners including CDP, the World Resources Institute, WWF, the United Nations Global Compact and Conservation International. Its mandate is to help businesses and cities operate within planetary limits by setting science-based targets across biodiversity, land, freshwater and ocean. The initiative builds on the emissions-focused Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), extending the same validation logic beyond climate.

For companies already holding SBTi climate commitments, nature targets are the next compliance-adjacent frontier — one that investors and disclosure regimes increasingly treat as a checkbox rather than a virtue signal.

Does 2.0 move companies from targets to action?

It tries. The release includes new resources designed to carry companies past target-setting into action planning: fresh guidance, an expanded response options database and a corporate action plan template. The tools help companies identify relevant response options, assess feasibility, connect science-based targets with broader nature and climate transition planning, and apply safeguards for nature and people. The template also pushes users toward actions that deliver benefits across multiple targets at once.

Science Based Targets Network Technical Director Dr Varsha Vijay said: "The goal is not simply to make it easier for companies to set more targets. It is to make rigorous science more usable in the decisions companies are actually making — where to focus, what level of action is needed and how to build credible progress over time."

That distinction — usable science rather than more targets — is the quiet verdict of the entire release. Target counts were the 2023 metric; implementation quality is the 2.0 metric.

What happens next?

The framework is available now through the SBTN site. The milestone to watch is the first cohort of companies validating under the new flexible pathways — and whether the looser entry routes hold up under scrutiny from the auditors, investors and NGOs who will read the resulting action plans.

Flexibility bought adoption in 2025. Credibility will be settled by whatever those companies can show on the ground in the reporting cycles that follow.