THE SUSTAINABILITY INTERVIEW
The Science Based Targets initiative( SBTi) has been instrumental in changing how global corporations respond to the climate crisis. But for David Kennedy, SBTi’ s CEO, it’ s about transforming those targets into tangible, real-world action.
“ The SBTi helps companies translate climate ambition into credible action,” David says.“ Our focus is on evolving into a more pragmatic, action-orientated organisation – one focused on what works in the real economy.”
The journey to SBTi David’ s career spans more than three decades across the public and private sectors. Before joining the SBTi as CEO in March 2025, he was a partner at professional services firm EY, leading net zero strategy and planning for major companies in food, infrastructure and banking. Earlier, he served as the founding CEO of the UK’ s Committee on Climate Change, guiding the country’ s early carbon budgets and low-carbon reforms.
He also spent a decade in the UK Civil Service, overseeing food strategy, biosecurity and trade at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs during Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. That experience gave him, as he puts it,“ a front-row view of how sustainability, food systems and climate policy intersect”.
20 May 2026