Setting Sail: Target-setting in the Sustainable Blue Economy

Through the Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative's Seafood Finance Working Group, co-convened with WWF and UNEP FI, this handbook has been developed to support financial institutions in implementing the Turning the Tide and Diving Deep sector guide, and in setting targets for the sustainable blue economy.

Banks, investors and insurers are increasingly looking to assess and disclose nature's impacts and dependencies and apply impact management approaches that enable meaningful targets to advance the sustainability transition. As part of this effort, there is a need to understand what the key risks and impacts on the ocean look like, in line with the framework provided by the UNEP FI Impact Protocol, the guidance of the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) and the recommendations of the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. TNFD).

This document allows institutions to set targets that align with guidance and support the transition to a sustainable blue economy, in line with the objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the Paris Agreement. Although its primary audience is members and signatories of the Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative (SBEFI), any bank, investor or insurer can adopt this handbook to support the implementation of the guidance and guide the setting of targets for SBE financing. Although applicable to all sectors, this document includes an annex of specific recommendations for target setting in the seafood sector.