SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard, Version 2.0

The Science Based Targets initiative has published Version 2.0 of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard, the first full revision since the standard was introduced in 2021. More than 11,000 companies now hold validated targets, and the revision responds to what a decade of working with them revealed: commitment was rarely the obstacle, delivery was. The standard takes effect on 1 February 2027. Version 1 stays open for target setting until the end of 2027, and companies with 2030 targets are expected to set their next cycle, 2030 to 2035, under Version 2.0 from 2028.

The most consequential change is structural. Companies are now sorted into two categories: Category A covers large companies everywhere and medium-sized companies in high-income countries, Category B covers small companies everywhere and medium-sized companies in lower-income countries. Three requirements that are mandatory for Category A become optional for Category B: disclosure of the transition plan, limited assurance of target base year data, and scope 3 target setting. Every company needs a transition plan and sign-off at the highest governance level, and target base years are now assessed against the latest available data rather than a fixed historical year.

Scope 1 and scope 2 targets remain mandatory for all companies. For scope 1, near-term targets can follow three routes: absolute emissions reduction, emissions intensity reduction along a sector pathway, or asset transition for companies whose capital stock does not turn over on a linear path. For scope 2, low-carbon electricity now explicitly includes renewables, nuclear and generation fitted with carbon capture and storage. Companies with significant electricity use must report the share matched on an hourly basis, and hourly matching carries its own voluntary recognition.

Scope 3 is mandatory only for Category A, and companies may make limited, justified exclusions: categories below five percent of total scope 3, fuel- and energy-related activities already covered by scope 1 or 2 targets, and activities over which they hold no practical influence. Three target options are available: an overarching reduction target, a supplier and customer alignment target, or category- and activity-specific targets for companies with concentrated emissions.

Implementation is governed by a new hierarchy. Direct action inside the company's own operations and value chain ranks first, followed by action within shared systems such as electricity grids or logistics networks, and finally sector-level action where the first two are constrained. Market instruments may support these actions within defined guardrails, including energy attribute and commodity certificates that use chain-of-custody models such as mass balance or book-and-claim. Targets are pursued on a best-efforts basis: companies are expected to use every lever available, disclose where barriers limited what was possible, and show what they are doing about them.

Carbon credits gain a defined place through the voluntary Ongoing Emissions Responsibility programme. Companies may take responsibility for between one and one hundred percent of their ongoing emissions through reductions, removals or other climate action, and receive recognition for it. The standard is explicit that this complements rather than replaces cutting a company's own emissions. Ongoing emissions responsibility is intended to become mandatory from 2035, and neutralisation of residual emissions remains a condition of any net-zero target.