Dr Luiz Fernando do Amaral is the CEO of the Science Based Targets initiative. SBTi drives ambitious climate action in the private sector by enabling organizations to set science-based emissions reduction targets. It is result of a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), in collaboration with We Mean Business coalition. With more than 3000 companies with commitments from 70 countries and 1300 of them already with targets validated against Paris Agreement and science, the SBTi movement now covers 1/3 of the global economy.

Before joining SBTi, Luiz served as Director for Commodities and Finance at the World Resources Institute (WRI), leading the institute´s work on sustainable global supply chains. At WRI he also directed the product development team for Global Forest Watch, technology-based solutions to monitor world´s forests. In addition, Luiz has served on personal capacity on several external board positions, such as credit committee member of the &Green Fund, a multi-million blended-finance facility investing in sustainable agriculture, the innovation and sustainability board at Minerva Foods, the largest Latin American beef exporter, as well as steering committee deputy member for the Tropical Forest Alliance.

Previously Luiz worked on the financial sector, serving as the Head of Sustainability for Rabobank in South America and leading an award winning ESG due diligence for an investment portfolio of USD 7 billion. Before Rabobank, he served on the board of the Brazilian government´s National Fund for Climate Change, was the head of the Brazilian delegation for the International Standardization Organization (ISO) committee on sustainability of bioenergy, board member of multi-stakeholder initiatives – such as Bonsucro - and the sustainability manager at the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA).

Luiz holds a master’s degree in international economics from the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and a Ph.D. in international relations from the University of São Paulo (USP).