Setting a reduction target without a sustainability team

What does a credible carbon reduction target look like for a small company?

Three parts: a base year (the year your footprint starts from), a target year, and the percentage you will cut between the two, stated separately for Scope 1 and 2 and, when you have the data, for Scope 3. "Reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2024 base year" is a target. "Become more sustainable" is not. Customers want the first kind because it can be checked against your published figures each year.

Do I need a perfect baseline before I set a target?

No. You need a Scope 1 and 2 figure for one full year, built from real bills and published factors, which is what the Measure stage produces. That becomes your base year. If you improve the data later (a measured figure where you had an estimate), you restate the base year and say so; standards expect that and customers accept it. Waiting for a perfect baseline only delays the target.

Your customer will accept: a Scope 1 and 2 target from a first-year footprint, plus a written commitment to measure Scope 3 and set a target for it once the data exists.

How ambitious should the target be?

Ambitious enough to be in line with what the science says is needed, which is what "science-based" means. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) publishes the rates of reduction that keep warming to 1.5°C, and its guidance for small and mid-sized companies (the SME FAQs, version 6.2, July 2026) sets out a standard near-term target for Scope 1 and 2 that most SMEs can adopt without a bespoke calculation. Using that rate, even before you submit anything to the SBTi, gives you a target a customer recognises. Pick the rate from their current guidance rather than from this page, because they update it.

There is a second test that matters as much: can you see how you would get there? A target you cannot describe a path to is a target you will miss in public. The Reduce stage of this section, and ClimateMate, which builds a free reduction plan from real-world case studies, are where that path comes from. Set the target, then build the plan, then adjust the target if the plan shows it is wrong.

What goes in the target statement?

One page, published alongside your footprint.

1. Scope and boundary. Which scopes and which sites the target covers.
2. Base year and base-year figure. The year and the tonnes of CO2e.
3. Target year and percentage. Usually five to ten years out for a near-term target.
4. Scope 3 commitment. If you have no Scope 3 target yet: a sentence saying you will measure it and set one by a stated date.
5. Who is accountable. A named role, usually the managing director or the person who owns the customer relationship.
6. How you will report. Once a year, on the same page as your footprint.

That is the whole document. The SME Climate Commitment gives you a public version of it in minutes, and the Exponential Business Playbook (formerly the 1.5°C Business Playbook) walks through the target, the plan and the disclosure for companies that want more structure. Some governments run free national versions: Japan's Ministry of the Environment publishes an SME handbook with a six-step method for a reduction plan and target (in Japanese), and Chile's HuellaChile recognises organisations that measure and reduce (in Spanish).

Should I set an absolute or an intensity target?

Absolute, if you can. An absolute target cuts total tonnes. An intensity target cuts tonnes per unit of something (per unit produced, per pound of revenue) and can be met while total emissions rise if the business grows. Customers and the SBTi prefer absolute targets. If your business is growing fast and an absolute target looks impossible, set the absolute target anyway for Scope 1 and 2 (electricity and fuel can be cut regardless of volume) and use an intensity target only for Scope 3 while you build the data.

What if I miss it?

Say so, explain why, and restate the plan. A missed target with an honest explanation does less damage with a customer than a target quietly dropped. The yearly report on the same page as your footprint is where this happens. Most customers are running their own targets and know how this works.

Do this week: write the six-line target statement from your first-year figure, using the SBTi's current SME rate for Scope 1 and 2. Sign the SME Climate Commitment if you want it public today.

What should I do next?

Is the SBTi right for you yet? covers whether to submit the target for validation and what that involves. If your customer uses DitchCarbon, claim your profile and add the target so it shows against your figures.