Bart Corijn evaluates one year of BACA

October 12 marked the first birthday of the Belgian Alliance for Climate Action (BACA). We look at the results, highlights and next steps with Bart Corijn, Change facilitator at The Shift.

Bart, for those of us who do not know, what is BACA again?

“Climate change caused by human activities is one of the biggest challenges facing humankind right now. Its consequences are already affecting societies on a daily basis.

In order to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, we need to break down silos and work together across sectors and borders. The good news is that we have the technology and resources to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Governments won’t be able to do this alone: businesses, non-profits and academia all have a crucial role to play.

That is why The Shift and WWF are calling upon organisations across Belgium to join the Belgian Alliance for Climate Action (BACA), to strengthen their climate action through science-based targets (SBT) and encourage their supply chains to do the same.”

The BACA launched one year ago, where do you stand?

“We are very satisfied with our results, they certainly exceed the initial expectations we had. 85 Belgian organisations have committed to science-based climate action. The Alliance now connects over 13 sectors and 31 BACA members have validated targets.

The fact that some companies told us that they wouldn't have started without us is one of our proudest achievements. Additionally we had successful exchanges between BACA members supporting each other in the implementation of their SBTs.”

What are the next steps?

“Our biggest challenge is recruiting more members who are not among the 'usual suspects'. Secondly we need to convince more SME’s. We count on existing members to, for example, address their supply chain and will also focus our offer more on SMEs. Additionally we want to focus more on how to implement/achieve these SBTs now!”

The science-based targets initiative recently announced some changes. Can you tell us a bit more and what this means for companies?

“The IPCC report (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) published in August is very clear: even if we can limit global warming to 1.5°C, our planet will no longer be a safe place for many.

Based on these recent scientific insights, SBTi decided to adjust their options regarding target setting. This means that from July 2022 they will only validate reduction targets that meet 1.5°C global warming and will phase out the ‘well below 2°C’ option.

For companies, this means that if you are drawing up or are going to set climate targets, 1.5°C warming must be the target if you want to have them validated by SBTi. And consequently wants to take science-based climate action in line with the Paris Agreement.”

Spadel aligning itself to new 1.5° degree target

Spadel was one the first companies in the EU Food & Beverage sector to have approved science-based targets in 2019. As this was against the ‘well below 2°’ target we are now adjusting ourselves to the new target of ‘max 1.5°’.

In the first half of 2021 our CEO Marc du Bois spoke to BACA about Spadel’s climate journey and why we joined: