In April 2025, Stok received confirmation from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) that our targets were approved under the SBTi’s Small and Medium Enterprises Criteria (v1.0). With this validation, SBTi confirms that Stok’s targets are aligned with the ambition to limit global temperature rise to 1.5° Celsius, guiding our decarbonization efforts toward data-driven impact.
With our targets now published on the SBTi’s Target Dashboard, Stok proudly commits to the following decarbonization milestones:
Emissions reduction
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- Near term: Reduce scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 42% by 2030 from a 2023 year and measure and reduce our scope 3 emissions.
- Long term: Reach net-zero by 2050. As part of this, we commit to reduce scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions 90% by 2050 from a 2023 base year.
Emissions compensation
In addition to these targets, Stok commits to purchase carbon credits to compensate for emissions while we actively work to reduce emissions. Our compensation efforts will cover the business activities most directly related to the delivery of services to our clients, beginning with services delivered in the calendar year 2025. These activities include:
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- Scope 1 and 2: Energy use from our leased office spaces.
- Scope 3: Business travel and employee commute.
WHY SET SCIENCE-BASED TARGETS?
Stok’s purpose is to boldly catalyze an environmentally restorative and socially equitable world. As a small business and professional sustainability services firm, our biggest potential to fulfill this ambitious vision is beyond our own operations—through our decarbonization work with clients like the County of San Diego, City of Edmonton, and Healthpeak Properties, and by supporting industry transformation.
Though Stok is not a significant carbon emitter, we are a part of a business segment—small and medium size enterprises, or SMEs—that makes up 90% of businesses worldwide and is therefore critical to achieving global decarbonization targets. Our decision to compensate for emissions while we work toward reductions acknowledges the critical need for near-term carbon removal to urgently mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Our target-setting and long-term net-zero goal is both us doing our part and us demonstrating to our peers in the industry as well as other SMEs how it’s possible.
Several other specific reasons motivated Stok’s commitment to this target, including:
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- Our long-term strategic goal to become a net-zero professional services organization.
- To act in alignment with our core values and what we are advocating for to our clients.
- An eagerness to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners who are leaders in climate action at scale, like Salesforce, who actively encourages suppliers like us to achieve higher levels of climate action.
TARGET SETTING PROCESS
Stok routinely works with clients and industry partners who are new to climate action and seeking to understand how to get started. Our own journey to set science-based targets began several years ago and included:
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- Internal discussions around ambition, feasibility, budget, and value to our business.
- Completion of our first comprehensive scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG inventory.
- Alignment with Salesforce’s climate action procurement standards outlined in its Supplier Program.
We then engaged team members across the organization to establish a shared understanding of climate action and Stok’s impact, and established a target-setting committee for focused discussions and decision-making. Our targets were finalized internally in Q3 2024 and submitted to the SBTi in Q4 2024.
NEXT STEPS
In 2025, Stok will focus on building the foundations to advance toward our near- and long-term emissions reduction goals. Key priorities in 2025 include:
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- Complete our third annual scope 1, 2, and 3 GHG inventory: Continue to refine and strengthen our emissions data, building a clear and accurate understanding of our footprint across our operations and value chain.
- Publicly report GHG inventory and targets: Share our GHG inventory results and progress towards our science-based targets in our companywide sustainability report.
- Develop Carbon Mitigation Plan: Create a detailed plan that defines roles and responsibilities, establishes interim milestones, and outlines core strategies for emissions reduction efforts across our operations and supply chain.
- Develop Carbon Credit Sourcing Strategy: To support Stok’s emissions compensation commitment, we’ll identify high-quality, verified carbon reduction and removal credits. This strategy will include criteria for evaluating projects, establishing an annual budget, and identifying providers in the voluntary carbon market.
- Conduct an internal Stok decarbonization assessment: While not required for the achievement of our SBTi targets, we’ll complete a baseline assessment to allow us to better understand the scale of direct and indirect impact of our current work, and help inform how we can approach aligning more of our services with direct climate and social benefits.
We’re excited to progress along this journey ourselves that we’ve supported so many other organizations through. Together, as we set ambitious yet achievable science-based targets, we can decarbonize now. If you’re setting or working to meet your organization’s science-based target, reach out. We’d love to help.
