10,000 Strong: Celebrating a Major Milestone and an Important Update About the Future

We have some incredible news to share. The SME Climate Hub community has officially reached a momentous milestone: over 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have formally signed the SME Climate Commitment! 

From local storefronts to scaling startups, more than 10,000 business leaders across the globe are proving that you don’t need a massive corporate budget to take meaningful climate action. By joining forces, our community is demonstrating that SMEs aren’t just bystanders in the transition to a green economy—they are an engine driving it. 

As our community grows, the landscape of climate action evolves too. As a partner to small- and medium-sized businesses everywhere, at the SME Climate Hub, we must ensure that we are giving businesses the most impactful, realistic, and scientifically grounded pathway to success while advancing essential greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction at scale. That’s why we are introducing an update to the SME Climate Commitment. 

Why has the SME Climate Commitment changed? 

Reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 is our collective north star. Science has made it clear that we must reduce emissions as quickly as possible to avoid the worst potential scenarios of climate change. Businesses of any size that want to be competitive and resilient must make robust reductions, fast. 

The original SME Climate Commitment launched in 2020, when 10 years remained to meet 2030 targets. Near-term targets are important tools for companies, as they enable long-term ambition to be translated into operational decisions and measurable milestones. As 2030 approaches, we want to ensure that new SMEs can join this community and work towards feasible near-term targets, especially as the pace of change increasingly depends not just on ambition, but also on the enabling conditions—infrastructure, technology, finance, supply chains, workforce capacity, and policy alignment—that no company can solve for alone. 

That’s why, beginning in 2026, businesses signing on to the SME Climate Commitment have ten years to reduce emissions by 50% with a recommendation to strive to halve Scope 1 and 2 emissions within five years. This is an important step in collective efforts to eliminate GHG emissions by 2050, in line with the evolution of key standards like the Science Based Targets initiative. 

To learn more about the importance of overcoming systemic barriers to climate action, we recommend reading this article from We Mean Business Coalition.  

The New Commitment  

For new businesses joining our 10,000-strong cohort starting this year, here is the official pledge you will make: 

Recognizing that climate change poses a threat to the economy, nature and society at large, and that immediate action can ensure business competitiveness and resilience, our company commits to: 

• Halve our greenhouse gas emissions within ten years 

• Achieve net zero emissions before 2050 

• Disclose our progress on a yearly basis 

In doing so, we are proud to be recognized by the UN Climate Change’s Global Climate Action portal for having ambition in line with the global Race to Zero campaign. The portal joins governments, businesses, cities, and regions around the world that share the same mission. 

Your Commitment Is The First Step of Your Journey 

Our goal has always been to streamline the climate journey for smaller businesses as their environmental ambition and skillsets evolve.  

That’s why the Science Based Targets initiative (a global climate organization providing companies and financial institutions with a clear, scientific framework to measure and drastically reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement) and the SME Climate Hub work together to ensure that SMEs have a clear pathway from joining the Hub to setting targets with the SBTi. The SME Climate Hub is an on-ramp for SMEs to later set targets with the SBTi for SMEs that want to go further; and SMEs that have set SBTi targets are encouraged to use Hub resources as they develop strategies to reduce emissions. 

What The Commitment Change Means For You 

• If you’ve already made the SME Climate Commitment: Thank you for being one of the first 10,000! Current commitments won’t change as a result of this shift, but we are exploring a mechanism to re-confirm commitments every five years.  We encourage you to utilize our updated tools and resources to stay on track for your targets. 

• If you have not yet made the SME Climate Commitment: There has never been a better time. This updated timeline gives your business a realistic, 10-year runway to cut your emissions in half while keeping you aligned with global climate science and international standards. 

To our committed SMEs: thank you for your ambition, your resilience, and your dedication to a sustainable future. And to the next 10,000 businesses waiting to take the leap—the door is wide open. Let’s get to work. 

Ready to make the pledge and ensure your business is resilient and competitive in the future?