Science Based Targets for Holdings fully owned by Government

1

Hello,

we are currently evaluating for a customer wheter they can set SBT’s or not. The customer is 100% owned by the regional government and acts as a holding company for (partially) state owned companies.
They only generate revenue through financial services activities so they would qualify for the SBTi-FI criteria. However, I am not sure if the fact that they are fully owned by a regional government prevents them from setting SBT’s. (Since agency bones are excluded in the FI-Criteria, since there is no SBT guidance for states as of now etc.)

I would highly appreciate if someone could confirm my understanding, that it is indeed possible for them to set SBT’s using the SBTi-FI Standard.

yours
Frenky

2

Hi Frenky,

The SBTi does not currently validate targets for cities, local governments, public sector institutions, educational institutions or non-profit organizations. However, government ownership does not necessarily mean that an entity is a public sector institution. If an entity’s primary objective is to fulfil public needs/interests (over profit motives), then it should be considered a public sector institution. If an entity operates in a commercial market or has a commercial orientation and aims to generate profits while providing services, then it could be considered for target validation.