From first mover to long-term transformer: why science still sets the course for Renault Group’s climate ambition
Published on
Article summary
Firmly rooted in Renault Group’s values and heritage, our climate ambition has once again been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), whose methodology is grounded in rigorous scientific principles. For Cléa Martinet, VP Sustainability, this important milestone demonstrates that decarbonization is now an operational reality across the company and throughout our relationships with partners, starting with suppliers, from vehicle design and manufacturing to the vehicle use phase.
Key takeaways
- Renault Group’s short- and long-term climate ambitions have once again been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), confirming the scientific credibility of its decarbonization pathway.
- This ambition is being translated into concrete action through the company’s strategic plan, futuREady, notably through vehicle electrification, reduced energy consumption across manufacturing plants, the development of the circular economy, and continuous improvements in battery performance.
- These initiatives support Renault Group’s target of reducing emissions from its own operations by 72% and emissions related to its products by 57% by 2035, compared with 2019 levels
In 2019, Renault Group became the first carmaker to align its climate targets with science. In 2026, those targets have now been renewed, with both our near- and long-term ambitions validated by the @Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
This matters for one simple reason: in a period of deep industrial transformation, climate ambition only means something if it is grounded in measurable progress, disciplined execution and long-term vision that can withstand complexity. That is exactly the path we are building at Renault Group.
Science as a method
For years, climate commitments have multiplied across industries. Beyond words, those commitments need anchoring in a framework that is robust, transparent and externally assessed.
That is why the science-based approach matters so much. It allows us to focus on whether our choices - industrial, technological and commercial - are compatible with the global effort to limit warming to well below 2°C, while continuing efforts toward a 1.5°C trajectory, in line with the Paris Agreement.
This approach has shaped Renault Group’s climate strategy for several years already. And today, it continues to shape our decisions for our industrial sites, our products and our suppliers to build a robust transition pathway.
A climate trajectory built through products, plants and value chain transformation
One of the key lessons of climate transition is that it is the combination between suppliers, plants and products’ decarbonization roadmaps, and the consistency between them, that creates credible momentum.
Our strategic plan, futuREady, gives this trajectory concrete substance. It includes 16 new electric models, a further 25% reduction in energy used per vehicle produced by 2030, and a target of 30% of materials sourced from the circular economy, including steel, aluminium and polymers. It also points to the next steps on batteries, with 10% to 40% higher energy density by 2030 and the acceleration of recycling solutions.
Together, these initiatives describe a model of transformation that is both industrial and systemic: producing differently, designing differently, sourcing differently, and progressively changing the footprint of mobility itself.
* including materials recycled in accordance with ISO 14021 and production offcuts or scraps reincorporated into manufacturing processes on an industrial site
Ambition, yes, but also clarity about what it takes
A credible climate strategy must be ambitious. But it must also be honest about the conditions required for success.
Renault Group’s climate ambition is built with a clear reading of current market trends, energy dynamics and public policy frameworks. It also takes into account the pace at which infrastructures, regulation and customer behavior evolve.
This is why our roadmap combines reference targets and higher ambition levels. By 2035, Renault Group has set minimum reference targets of -72% for emissions from its own operations (scope 1 and 2*) and -40% for emissions linked to the production and use of its products (scope 3*), compared with 2019.
Beyond that baseline, the ambition levels approved by SBTi go further. Renault Group aims to reduce by 2035, versus 2019, 72% of emissions from its own operations, 57% of emissions linked to the production and use of its products, and ultimately to reach net-zero carbon emissions across the full value chain by 2050.
These milestones are demanding. But they reflect something essential: climate transition is not a communication exercise. It is a transformation challenge that requires industrial discipline, technological progress and collective alignment over time.
* Scope 1 refers to direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company, including activities at its manufacturing plants and office facilities. Scope 2 covers indirect emissions associated with the production of imported energy used by the company, such as electricity and district heating and cooling networks supplying Renault Group sites. Scope 3 encompasses all other indirect greenhouse gas emissions occurring across the value chain, both upstream and downstream. This includes emissions generated before vehicle manufacturing, such as the extraction and processing of raw materials, as well as emissions generated during vehicle use, including the fuel or electricity required to power the vehicle
Why collective action is the real accelerator
There is another important truth behind this new validation: no company can decarbonize alone.
The pathway ahead depends on our own progress and on the wider ecosystem: from material suppliers to renewable energy producers, and from public policy to the broader downstream and upstream automotive value chain. Renault Group explicitly recognizes that stronger decarbonization across this chain is necessary, because climate transition can only succeed collectively.
This is also why we believe industrial companies have a particular role to play. Not only in reducing their own footprint, but in helping structure the ecosystems, standards and innovations that make broader change possible.
What this validation really tells us
The SBTi validation is an important milestone.
It shows that at Renault Group, decarbonization is both an ambition and an execution, embedded into how we design vehicles, run industrial sites, source materials and prepare the next chapter of our strategy.
The road ahead remains demanding, and there is no room for complacency. But this renewed validation sends a clear signal: the transformation is underway, the direction is set, and the responsibility is fully assumed.
For a long-standing industrial company like Renault Group, this is not only about reducing emissions. It is about helping shape a model of mobility that is more sustainable, more resilient and more future-minded, one that combines innovation, industrial performance and responsibility toward the generations to come.
What is the SBTi?
Launched in June 2015, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a collaborative initiative that helps companies align their greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets with the level of decarbonization required to limit global warming, in line with the Paris Agreement, adopted at COP21 later that same year.
The SBTi relies on the Technical Advisory Group composed primarily of experts in corporate sustainability and social responsibility. The methodologies it develops are based on leading scientific research, establishing credible emissions reduction pathways and identifying practical decarbonization levers. It is this scientific foundation that gives the initiative its name: Science-Based Targets.
