The new target, approved under the Science Based Targets initiative, includes a 65% reduction in direct emissions and emissions from energy consumption by 2035. The company will also be required to significantly reduce emissions from its supply chain and product use.
Company Dassault Systems (Dassault Systèmes) set a new goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions throughout its value chain by 2050. The target was approved by the Science Based Targets initiative – SBTi, and includes interim targets for 2035 to reduce direct emissions, emissions related to energy consumption, and indirect emissions along the value chain. ([Dassault Systèmes][2])
The announcement is not just a postponement of a previous target. In 2021, Dassault Systèmes announced that it intended to reach net-zero by 2040. However, that long-term target was not a net-zero target verified by SBTi’s Corporate Net-Zero standard, which was subsequently published. The company explains that the new targets translate the previous ambition into an emissions reduction trajectory that is consistent with SBTi’s latest criteria, and in particular give greater weight to Scope 3 emissions – that is, emissions generated throughout the value chain. ([Dassault Systèmes][1])
65% reduction in operational emissions
According to the new targets, by 2035, Dassault Systèmes plans to reduce absolute emissions in Complexes 1 and 2 by 65% compared to the base year 2024.
Scope 1 includes direct emissions from sources controlled by the company, such as heating systems or vehicles owned by the company. Scope 2 refers to emissions related to the production of electricity and energy that the company purchases.
The target for Tier 3 is more complex. The company has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions intensity per euro of value added by 66.33% by 2035, compared to 2024. The same reduction rate also applies to the emissions intensity resulting from the use of products sold, for the part included in the company's target. ([Dassault Systèmes][2])
In the long term, the new pathway requires a 90% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050, a 90% reduction in Scope 3 emissions, and a 90% reduction in emissions from the use of products sold. This makes it clear that the net-zero goal should not be based primarily on offsetting emissions but on deep reductions. ([Dassault Systèmes][3])
Previous goals were achieved two years ahead of schedule
Dassault Systèmes already met previous targets set for 2027 in 2025. The company reports that it has reduced its operational emissions in Complexes 1 and 2 by 35%, as well as reducing emissions from business travel and employee travel to and from work by 20%.
In addition, suppliers responsible for more than half of the company's emissions related to the purchase of products, services and capital assets have already set their own science-based emissions reduction targets. ([Dassault Systèmes][2])
According to the company, steps that helped achieve the goals included ISO 50001 certification for energy management systems at sites where 91.4% of its employees work and increasing the share of electricity from renewable sources to 93.9% by 2025. Environmental requirements in procurement processes were also strengthened. ([Dassault Systèmes][2])
The big challenge moves to the value chain
For a software company like Dassault Systèmes, the main difficulty is not necessarily the direct emissions from offices and facilities. A significant part of the challenge lies in a set of 3 – suppliers, travel, data centers, and emissions related to the use of the company's solutions.
For example, Dassault Systèmes itself reports that the emissions it attributes to the use of solutions sold amounted to 118,231 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2025, compared to 114,078 tons in 2024. This figure illustrates why the new pathway explicitly addresses the use of products and not just the company’s direct operations. ([Dassault Systèmes][3])
Virtual twins as part of the solution the company offers to customers
Dassault Systèmes seeks to connect its own footprint reduction to its business activities in the field of virtual twins. A virtual twin is a digital model that allows you to simulate a product, plant or complex system and test changes before they are made in the physical world.
In industrial applications, for example, it is possible to compare raw materials, production processes, energy consumption or production line design without having to build a physical prototype each time. The company claims that this way it is possible to reduce material and energy use and design products with a more efficient life cycle. ([Dassault Systèmes][4])
Filipina de T'Serclas, Deputy Director General of theSustainability Dassault Systèmes, said the new net-zero target strengthens the scientific basis of the company's emissions reduction plan, while at the same time the company seeks to enable customers to useVirtual twins To examine the impact of their decisions before implementing them.
What is SBTi?
The Science Based Targets initiative is a framework designed to examine whether the emissions reduction targets that companies set are consistent with scientific knowledge and the pathways required to limit global warming.
The approval does not indicate that a company has already reached net-zero, but rather that the goals it has set and the path to reduce emissions meet the requirements of the framework. In the case of Dassault Systèmes, these are now interim goals for 2035 and long-term reduction goals until 2050.
The distinction is particularly important given the proliferation of “carbon neutral” declarations in the business sector. A net-zero target under the SBTi framework requires a significant reduction in emissions themselves, and only then addressing residual emissions that could not be prevented.
Questions and Answers
What is Dassault Systèmes' new net-zero goal? The company has committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across its value chain by 2050, as part of a target approved by SBTi.
What is planned until 2035? Dassault Systèmes plans to reduce absolute emissions from Complexes 1 and 2 by 65% compared to 2024, and reduce the intensity of emissions from Complex 3 per euro of value added by 66.33%.
Why is the 2050 target not necessarily a retreat from the previous 2040 announcement? The 2040 target was an aspiration the company set before SBTi’s Corporate Net-Zero Framework was published. The new 2050 target is a verified pathway that requires detailed reduction targets, including a 90% reduction in absolute emissions by mid-century.
How are virtual twins related to reducing emissions? They allow companies to simulate products and manufacturing processes and examine energy consumption, materials, and design before making physical changes, thus potentially reducing waste and resource consumption.
More on the subject on the science website
- Dassault Systèmes and OMRON will connect virtual twins for industrial automation
- Emma Twine, a Dassault Systèmes virtual character, demonstrates how virtual twins advance medical development
For the original publication: Opening the original publication
