New data from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) highlights continued momentum in corporate climate action through 2025, resulting in more than 10,000 companies worldwide with validated targets by January 2026.
According to the Trend Tracker 2025, the number of companies with validated science-based targets rose by 40% in 2025, reaching 9,764 companies by year-end. Companies with validated net-zero targets grew even faster, increasing by 61% over the same period.
Key Highlights:
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40% growth in validated science-based targets during 2025
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61% growth in validated net-zero targets
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Asia was the fastest-growing region (+53%)
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Nearly 10,000 companies globally with validated targets by end-2025
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Strong sectoral growth led by Healthcare, Information Technology, and Materials
These results helped the SBTi cross the milestone of 10,000 validated companies in January 2026, showing that climate action is increasingly becoming part of core business strategy.
Asia in Focus
Asia is rapidly becoming a key driver of corporate climate ambition, recording a 53% rise in companies adopting science-based targets over the last 12 months.
The region added 1,216 companies, almost equal to Europe’s increase of 1,209, demonstrating growth on a comparable scale. Expansion was driven not only by China, Japan, and India, but also by emerging markets such as Indonesia, Pakistan, Singapore, and Thailand.
Global Trends
After Asia, the highest proportional growth came from:
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Africa: +48%
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Latin America & Caribbean: +42%
Europe still leads in total number of companies with validated targets, accounting for 49% of the global total, followed by Asia (36%) and North America (11%).
By country, Japan had the highest number of validated companies (2,091), followed by the United Kingdom (1,363) and the United States (943).
Market and Sector Trends
The highest market index penetration was seen in France’s CAC 40, Germany’s DAX 40, and the UK’s FTSE 100, highlighting strong adoption in Europe. The Nikkei 225 and S&P 500 also showed significant uptake.
Sector-wise, Healthcare led growth in 2025, while Information Technology and Materials were also among the fastest-growing sectors.
Overall, the data shows that corporate climate action continues to expand at scale despite a more challenging global environment.
