SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT

Guide to Setting Targets


A company can set specific and time-bound targets. By doing so, you provide clarity across the entity and improve the entity’s performance.

Best Practices:

  • Impact and Opportunities: Focus on company’s (1) greatest impact and (2) business opportunities. For example, set goals related to product use.

  • Stretch Goals: Set goals that are ambitious even if you are not sure how to achieve them yet.

  • Science-based Targets: Set targets that are required by the greater world. For example the Science Based Targets initiative is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature. It sets targets that focus on global greenhouse gas (GHG) emission levels.

  • Business Strategy Connected to Targets: Your business strategy should be supported by the targets i.e. productivity, risk management, and/or revenue growth.

  • Ownership: Obtain broad support and ownership of the targets across the organization. This includes internal and external support and from the bottom up and top down.

  • Globally Focused Targets: Targets set to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).

  • Make Public: Make your targets public to show your commitment to stakeholders and society overall.

Effective Targets:

  • Focus on integration of your targets with the company’s governance and processes.

  • Accountability: Integrate targets into each business unit’s strategy and hold each business unit accountable.

  • Performance and Remuneration: Reward high performers that assist with achieving the targets.

  • Monitor and Report: Regularly review progress and adjust where necessary. Be transparent with stakeholders regarding target progress with sustainability updates and reports.

Suggested Actions Tasks to help you going forward

  • Set specific and time-bound targets that fit with the company’s strategy.

  • Focus on effective targets that are carried out with internal accountability to achieve the targets, employee performance reviews, appropriate remuneration structures to achieve targets, monitoring of progress, and public reporting.

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