SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0: what changes and when

The SBTi net zero standard is the Science Based Targets initiative's rulebook for corporate net-zero targets. Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0 is a full revision. It merges the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V1.3.1 and the Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1 into one standard covering near-term and long-term targets. For how the whole target-setting system fits together, start with our guide to science-based targets.

V2.0 was approved by the SBTi's Technical Council on 8 May 2026 and adopted by its Board of Trustees on 21 May 2026. The revision ran from April 2024, with public consultations in March to June 2025 and November to December 2025.

The definition of the end state has not moved. Under V1.3.1, corporate net zero means cutting scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions to zero or a residual level consistent with 1.5°C-aligned pathways, and permanently neutralising what remains, as set out in the V1.3.1 Standard. The V2.0 text says that at the net-zero target year and after, companies shall reduce scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions to zero or residual levels and neutralise all residual emissions with eligible carbon removals.

The dates below come from Table 1 of the SBTi Services Guide for Companies in the Transition to CNZS V2.0, which agrees with the Standard's own version table. The live timeline further down marks which have passed.

Keep two January dates apart. 31 January 2027 is the last day to make a separate near-term or net-zero commitment under Table 4 of the Transition Guide; after it, a new commitment is a single commitment to set targets under V2.0. 31 January 2028 is the last day to submit targets under V1.3.1.

The SBTi calls V2.0 a major revision. Criteria are now grouped under headline and sub-criteria, so a criterion-by-criterion mapping to V1.3.1 “is not feasible”. At section level, 42% of V2.0 is entirely new and 58% modifies or expands an existing approach. Switch between the two versions below to read each one whole; the rows are in the same order in both.

The Transition Guide sets these out side by side. It is careful on one point: separating scope 1 and scope 2 targets changes how targets are written, but the SBTi has always assessed ambition by scope. The methods change too: V2.0 replaces the absolute contraction approach for scope 1 with an absolute target on a linear trajectory, alongside the sectoral approach and new asset transition targets, and adds low-carbon electricity alignment targets for scope 2.

V2.0 also adds an implementation hierarchy. Direct reductions in a company's own operations and value chain come first. Action in shared systems, such as grids or supply sheds, and at sector level, is allowed only where structural constraints exist. The SBTi's V2.0 page adds that companies set two or more near-term targets and can choose to set an overarching net-zero target.

Strengthening the approach to value chain emissions was one of the four stated purposes of the revision. Under V1.3.1, a scope 3 target is required where scope 3 is 40% or more of total emissions, and near-term targets must cover at least 67% of it. V2.0 replaces fixed percentages with significance.

Category boundaries still follow the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard, and Category A companies must report scope 3 in their inventory. Our scope 3 emissions guide explains the 15 categories. Note the UK difference: UK SRS S2 requires an entity to consider all 15 and disclose which it includes, which is not the same as the SBTi's 5% significance test.

A quick way to see the difference: a company with nothing in category 15 and scope 3 of 40,000 tonnes, where purchased goods are 24,000, upstream transport 3,500, business travel 1,800 and every other category under 2,000, needs 26,800 tonnes covered under V1.3.1 (67%), which purchased goods and upstream transport achieve together. Under V2.0 the test is category by category: purchased goods (60%) and upstream transport (8.75%) are significant; business travel (4.5%) is not, so the covered set may end up the same, but for a different reason and with no total to hit.

The criterion that decides how credits are treated is C5.4 in the V2.0 Criteria document. It is conditional, and a shortened quote reads as a stronger duty than it is, so here it is in full.

"C5.4. Inventory accounting approach: Companies shall account for and report a physical GHG inventory. Where applicable, companies shall separately account for and report actions and market instruments that are not reflected in the physical GHG inventory, in accordance with relevant GHG accounting standards, where available. All such actions and market instruments shall meet the integrity criteria set out in Section 4.2 of the Target Implementation chapter."SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0, criterion C5.4

Read it as three duties. Report the physical inventory, always. Report market instruments separately, where there are any and where an accounting standard exists for them. And make sure whatever is reported meets the Section 4.2 integrity criteria. There is no sentence in V2.0 banning credits from counting towards targets. The result is structural: ambition is measured against the physical inventory, and anything outside it is reported beside it, not netted off.

A worked example

A Category A manufacturer has 6,000 tonnes of scope 1 and 4,000 tonnes of location-based scope 2. It buys renewable electricity certificates that bring market-based scope 2 to 500 tonnes, and retires 1,000 tonnes of carbon credits.

The certificates are not wasted under V2.0. The Transition Guide says companies report total electricity consumption and the share of low-carbon electricity consumed or matched through market instruments, and V2.0 offers a low-carbon electricity alignment target for scope 2. What changes is that they no longer shrink the number the scope 2 reduction target is set against.

Credits also have a place in the Ongoing Emissions Responsibility framework. Participation is an optional recognition programme until 2035. The Main Changes Documentthen describes “a mandatory removal requirement for Category A companies from 2035 onward”, and the Transition Guide puts a figure on it: from 2035 a Category A company takes responsibility for at least 1% of its ongoing emissions, rising linearly to 100% of residual emissions at the net-zero target year. For a company with 50,000 tonnes of ongoing emissions in 2035, 1% is 500 tonnes. For how offsetting claims are certified in the UK, see our guide to PAS 2060 and ISO 14068.

The SBTi is a voluntary scheme. Nothing in UK law requires a science-based target. It meets UK reporting in three places, and V2.0 moves closer to UK practice in each.

The scope 2 change is the one to notice. UK SRS S2 already requires location-based scope 2 and treats market-based figures as optional. A UK company that built its SBTi target on market-based scope 2 will need to rebuild the baseline at its next cycle. Our UK SRS S2 guide covers the disclosure side.

The new transition plan requirement overlaps with work many UK companies are doing already. The SBTi validates that a plan exists and has the required elements, not its quality. For what a full plan contains, see our guide to the climate transition plan.

The SBTi's message in its launch blog is that existing validated targets do not need to be reset. More than 11,000 companies hold targets under Version 1 or the Near-Term Criteria, and those remain valid through their target cycle, subject to the five-year review provisions.

Sector guidance has not been withdrawn. Existing guidance for aviation, shipping, cement, steel, chemicals, buildings and FLAG remains valid alongside V1.3.1 until the end of January 2028. For the steps of building a target, read how to set science-based targets.

V2.0 lands differently depending on where you are in the target cycle. Pick the description that fits; each tab says what applies, what to do next and by when.

The timeline marks what has passed and what comes next as of the day you read it. The version dates are read from the corpus entries that cite the SBTi's own documents.

Category A / Category BV2.0

The two company categories that replace the corporate, SME and financial institution routes.

Physical GHG inventoryC5.4

Emissions as physically measured, with location-based scope 2; the basis for target ambition.

Market instrumentsC5.4

Carbon credits, energy attribute certificates and similar, reported separately from the physical inventory.

Ongoing Emissions ResponsibilityChapter 6

Taking responsibility for emissions a company still releases, through climate contributions and removals.

End-of-cycle assessmentChapter 5

The check of results against targets at the end of each five-year cycle.

Significant categoryscope 3

A scope 3 category that is 5% or more of categories 1 to 14.

Neutralisationnet zero

Removing residual emissions from the atmosphere with eligible carbon removals.

Transition periodSBTi Services

1 February 2027 to 31 January 2028, when either version can be used.