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These three ISO standards get confused constantly — all environmental, all with similar numbers, but each covers something distinct. ISO 14001: Environmental Management Systems This is the broadest of the three — a framework for managing an organisation’s overall environmental impact: waste, pollution, resource use, compliance with environmental law, and continual improvement. Think of it as the umbrella system for how a company manages its environmental responsibilities day to day. It’s the most widely adopted of the three, and often the first certification a company pursues. ...

“SBTi-aligned” gets used a lot in corporate sustainability reporting — but what does it actually commit a company to? What SBTi Is The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is an independent body that validates whether a company’s emissions reduction targets are actually consistent with what climate science says is needed to limit global warming — rather than being an arbitrary number a company picked for good PR. What “Science-Based” Actually Means A target is “science-based” if it aligns with the reductions needed to keep global warming well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C, in line with the Paris Agreement. SBTi provides sector-specific methodologies so that a target reflects what’s actually achievable and necessary for that industry — an airline and a bank don’t face the same decarbonisation pathway. ...

Companies often submit to both CDP and EcoVadis — but they’re not the same thing, and understanding the difference matters if you’re trying to make sense of a company’s sustainability credentials. CDP: Climate-Focused Disclosure CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is a detailed, climate-specific questionnaire covering emissions data, climate risk, and targets, primarily aimed at investors and the capital markets. Companies submit data annually and receive a letter grade (A to D-) based on the completeness and ambition of their disclosure. CDP is deep but narrow: it’s almost entirely about climate and environmental data, reported at a very granular level. ...

Companies talk a lot about “Scope 1, 2, and 3” emissions, but what do those actually mean, and why does the distinction matter? The GHG Protocol is the global standard most companies use to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions. It splits emissions into three categories, based on where they come from. Scope 1: Direct Emissions Emissions a company creates directly, think fuel burned in company-owned vehicles, or natural gas burned on-site for heating. If you own or control the source, it’s Scope 1. ...