Corporate Targets to Address Biodiversity Loss and Protection: The Science Based Targets Network Ocean Hub

The Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) Ocean Hub, co-led by WWF and Conservation International, has launched Version 1 of Science Based-Targets for Seafood Value Chains and is expanding targets to address corporate pressures on nature and biodiversity across the Blue Economy.

SBTN methodology is a new tool that supports the seafood industry’s journey to create and meet robust environmental responsibility targets. By empowering businesses to operate within Earth's limits while meeting society's needs, science-based targets give companies a clear pathway to competitiveness and resilience, using science to define their role in monitoring, protecting, and restoring nature and biodiversity while creating consistency across corporate  commitments.

The current methodology covers wild capture and farmed seafood and includes several key drivers of nature and biodiversity loss.

• Target 1: Avoid and Reduce Overexploitation
• Target 2: Protect Structural Marine Habitats
• Target 3: Reduce Risks to Endangered, Threatened, and Protected Marine Wildlife

Moving forward, the SBTN Ocean Hub will cover pressures placed on nature and biodiversity beyond seafood, in sectors such as coastal development, tourism, offshore renewable energy, and shipping. And it will further align with global frameworks to address these pressures to conserve nature and biodiversity. The Ocean Hub is considering targets to address the key drivers of biodiversity loss in the ocean including sea use change, pollution, and invasive species, while developing robust science for how companies can monitor, act on, and track their progress toward target outcomes that address the state of marine biodiversity. 

The SBTN Ocean Hub will introduce the above V1 methodology for the seafood industry to address pressures on nature and biodiversity in the ocean first, then share the exciting work to expand the methodology to address further pressures, monitor biodiversity, and expand to more key Blue Economy sectors for greater reach and impact on marine biodiversity outcomes.