Eva van Hilten

As a Science, Business and Innovation BSc graduate, I am currently finishing my EPA MSc. While living in Amsterdam and working at a telematics company that is focused on zero emission transport and management, my personal and professional goal is to contribute to the transition towards zero emission!

My thesis work investigates why corporates join the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), the most prominent climate initiatives nowadays. It has been proven that the SBTi reduces emissions according to the science based targets that are needed to keep below 1,5 degrees Celsius. We thus know the initiative contributes to emission reductions, but what we do not know is why companies actually join. According to extant literature, reasons for climate actions were found in the direction of legitimacy, market success, internal improvement, social insurance and organizational culture of the company. In this research, I am investigating whether this also holds true for the SBTi through statistical analysis and interviews, held with several global sustainability leaders of Fortune 500 companies. The purpose of the study is to provide policymakers and decision-makers with insights on SBTi participation, corporate motivations to take climate actions in general, and to help grow knowledge on this topic since not much is yet publicly available.