Science based targets · the criteria, by number
SBTi criteria: science-based targets, rule by rule
The SBTi criteria, the Science Based Targets initiative criteria, decide what a “science-based” corporate emissions target is, and the SBTi’s subsidiary checks targets against them before they can be called that.
The texts in force are the Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1 and the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V1.3.1; Version 2.0 is published but cannot be used before 1 February 2027.
Setting a target is voluntary in the UK, and this page sets out each rule with the criterion that makes it.
The basics
What the SBTi is, and what it is not
The Science Based Targets initiative writes the rules that define a science-based corporate emissions target.
Read the provisions and qualifications
It develops standards, tools and guidance so that companies and financial institutions can set reduction targets in line with reaching net zero by 2050 at the latest.
On its own account, it began as a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the We Mean Business Coalition, the World Resources Institute and WWF.
It is now a charity registered in England and Wales, and its validation arm, SBTi Services Limited, is a separate company it wholly owns.
The SBTi is not a regulator, a reporting standard or a certification body.
It certifies nothing about a company’s emissions: it checks whether a target meets its criteria at the moment the target is submitted.
Every target rests on a greenhouse gas inventory, and the criteria require that inventory to follow the GHG Protocol’s corporate, scope 2 and scope 3 standards, which our GHG Protocol reference sets out document by document.
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Criteria
Module 02 / 04
Standards
Module 03 / 04
Origins
Module 04 / 04
Legal structure
Tables and tools
| Point | The position |
|---|---|
| Standard-setter | Science Based Targets initiative, charity no. 1205768 |
| Validator | SBTi Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary |
| Founding partners | CDP, UN Global Compact, We Mean Business Coalition, WRI, WWF |
| Accounting basis | GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, Scope 2 Guidance, Scope 3 Standard |
| Target types | Near-term (5–10 years) and net-zero (2050 at the latest) |
| Status in UK law | None: a voluntary standard |
Governance
Two bodies: one writes, one checks
The charity writes the criteria and its subsidiary, SBTi Services, validates targets against them.
Read the provisions and qualifications
SBTi Services describes itself as a distinct legal entity that operates independently from the standard-setter, and says its profits pass to the charity.
The criteria are free to read; validation is a paid service, and its prices are published in the Target Validation Service Offerings.
SBTi Services answers questions during validation but, as the SBTi’s how-it-works page says, does not offer consultation services, which is why many companies use advisers for the inventory and modelling.
Once a target is validated it appears on the Target Dashboard, which lists companies with targets set, companies with active commitments and companies whose commitments were removed.
The dashboard is updated every Thursday, and commitment removals ordinarily happen on the first Thursday of each month.
A commitment is a public statement of intent that opens a 24-month window to submit targets; it is not a target.
The dashboard gives a temperature alignment only for scope 1 and 2 targets, because the SBTi says the methods to assess scope 3 alignment are not yet robust enough, with an exception for carmakers’ use-of-sold-products emissions.
A consultant, scheme or certification can help a company build a target “aligned with” SBTi criteria.
Only SBTi Services can validate one, and a target that does not appear on the dashboard as targets set should not be described as SBTi-validated.
The step-by-step process, including registration, the validation clock and the fees, is on our page on how to set and validate science-based targets.
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Writes and checks
Module 02 / 04
Independence
Module 03 / 04
Fees
Module 04 / 04
Consultancy
Status, document by document
Which SBTi criteria are in force
The SBTi’s standards and guidance page lists many documents at once, and their status differs.
This register labels each one: in force, published but not usable, or guidance.
| Document | Version and date | Status on 1 October 2026 | Governs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Near-Term Criteria | V5.3.1, in effect from 14 April 2026 | In force | Corporate near-term targets (not FIs or SMEs on the SME route) |
| Corporate Net-Zero Standard | V1.3.1 | In force | Long-term and net-zero targets |
| CNZS V1.3.1 Method Appendix | v1.0, from 14 April 2026 | In force | The revised absolute contraction approach |
| Corporate Net-Zero Standard | V2.0, published 11 June 2026 | Published; validations open 1 February 2027 | A single standard replacing both texts above |
| FLAG Guidance | V1.2, March 2026 | In force; V2 in development | Forest, land and agriculture targets |
| Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard | Launched July 2025 | In force | Portfolio net-zero targets for FIs |
| SME FAQs | Version 6.2, July 2026 | In force | Eligibility for and use of the SME route |
| Target Validation Service Offerings | Version 6.1, effective 5 January 2026 | In force | Tiers, services and fees |
| Transition Guide | Version 1.0, June 2026 | Guidance (the Standard prevails) | Moving from V1.3.1 to V2.0 |
Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1
SBTi criteria for near-term targets, criterion by criterion
Every corporate near-term submission is checked against these criteria.
“Shall” and “must” mark requirements; R-numbers are recommendations.
| Criterion | What it requires |
|---|---|
| C1 · Organisational boundary | Targets at parent or group level, including every subsidiary inside the consolidation approach |
| C2 · Gases | All relevant emissions of the seven GHGs: CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, SF6 and NF3 |
| C3 · Scope 1 and 2 | Company-wide scope 1 and scope 2 |
| C4 · Scope 3 trigger | Scope 3 in the targets if relevant scope 3 is 40% or more of total scope 1, 2 and 3; fossil fuel sellers always |
| C5 · Exclusions | No more than 5% of combined scope 1 and 2, and no more than 5% of scope 3, excluded; targeted scope 1 and 2 at least 95% of the total |
| C6 · Scope 3 coverage | Reduction and engagement targets together covering at least 67% of total reported and excluded scope 3 |
| C7 · Methods | Modelled with the latest approved tools; a superseded tool only within six months of the revised one |
| C8 · Scope 2 basis | Location-based or market-based, disclosed, and the same basis for setting and tracking |
| C9 · Scope 3 inventory | A complete gross scope 3 inventory under the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard |
| C11 · Carbon credits | Never counted as reductions toward near-term targets |
| C12 · Avoided emissions | A separate accounting system; they do not count |
| C13 · Timeframe | 5 to 10 years from submission; base year no earlier than 2015; scope 1 and 2 share a base year |
| C14 · Progress to date | A most recent year inventory; for 2026 submissions, 2024 or 2025 |
| C15 · Scope 1 and 2 ambition | At least consistent with 1.5°C |
| C18 · Scope 3 ambition | At least consistent with well-below 2°C |
| C19 · Engagement targets | Suppliers or customers with science-based targets within five years |
| C21 · Renewable electricity | An alternative to a scope 2 reduction target: 80% by 2025 and 100% by 2030 |
| C25–C28 · After validation | Report annually; review at least every five years; recalculate on significant change; announce within six months |
What “negligible” means
Nothing, for the SBTi.
Footnote 9 to C5 says emissions perceived to be negligible must still be quantified and reported in the inventory or disclosed as an exclusion.
Footnote 7 adds that a company cannot exclude 5% from the inventory and a further 5% from the target boundary.
Fiscal years
The SBTi assesses ambition by the calendar year in which most of a fiscal year’s months fall.
An April 2021 to March 2022 year is assessed as 2021, and a year ending 30 June takes the later calendar year.
Corporate Net-Zero Standard V1.3.1
What a net-zero target adds
A net-zero target under V1.3.1 is a package: near-term targets, a long-term target and a commitment to neutralise what is left.
Read the provisions and qualifications
The Net-Zero Standard Criteria define net zero in C14 as reducing scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions to zero or a residual level consistent with 1.5°C pathways, and neutralising any residual emissions at the net-zero target date.
C15 requires both near-term and long-term targets, so a net-zero target cannot be validated on its own.
For many companies the long-term target is at least a 90% absolute reduction across scopes by 2050 at the latest.
C12 keeps carbon credits out of the reduction: they may neutralise residual emissions or finance mitigation beyond the targets, never count as progress.
Net zero in this sense is a different claim from carbon neutrality, which counterbalances a period’s footprint with offsets; our page on PAS 2060 and ISO 14068 explains that standard.
The SBTi’s retired Corporate Manual is still online; the V1.3.1 version table says its relevant elements were consolidated into the Standard, so it should not be cited for the current process.
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Three elements
Module 02 / 04
Definition
Module 03 / 04
Two horizons
Module 04 / 04
Long-term reduction
Tables and tools
| Rule | V1.3.1 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite | Approved near-term targets (C15) |
| Long-term scope 1 and 2 coverage | At least 95% |
| Long-term scope 3 coverage | At least 90% (C7) |
| Typical long-term cut | At least 90% across scopes |
| Long-term target year | 2050 at the latest (2040 for power and maritime pathways) |
| Residual emissions | Neutralised at the net-zero target date (C14) |
| Credits | Not reductions; neutralisation or finance beyond the targets only (C12) |
The April 2026 method
The minimum near-term cut, calculated
On 14 April 2026 the SBTi changed how the absolute contraction approach sets the minimum cut.
The Method Appendix explains why: the old method’s adjustment for base years after 2020 produced annual rates of 8.4% for a 2025 base year and 10.5% for a 2026 base year.
The new rate divides each pathway’s net-zero ambition by the years left to its net-zero year, then applies a floor.
Scope 1 runs to a 90% cut by 2050, scope 2 to 100% by 2040, and well-below 2°C scope 3 to 75%.
The floors are 4.2% a year for scope 1, scope 2 and 1.5°C scope 3, and 2.5% for well-below 2°C scope 3.
The SBTi’s announcement says the 4.2% floor is unchanged, the update applied immediately, and earlier validated targets are unaffected.
Where the base year is earlier than the most recent year, Equations 2 to 6 convert the target back to the base year, so a company that has already cut emissions is credited and one whose emissions rose has to catch up.
The calculator applies those equations to separate scope 1 and scope 2 targets and a covered scope 3 target, and checks the timeframe, base year and coverage rules beside them.
Minimum near-term cut · absolute contraction, April 2026 method
Base-year emissions (tCO2e)
Most-recent-year emissions (tCO2e)
| Target | Rate a year | Cut 2025–2030 | Target-year tCO2e |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 | 4.20% (floor) | 21.0% | 4,740 |
| Scope 2 | 6.67% | 33.3% | 2,667 |
| Scope 3 covered (well-below 2°C) | 3.00% | 15.0% | 23,375 |
Method Appendix to the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V1.3.1 (April 2026), Table 2 and Equations 1–6; checks from the Corporate Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1 (C4, C6, C13, C14, R7).
A minimum ambition for separate scope 1 and scope 2 targets, not a validated figure — the tools in the Validation Portal do the official calculation.
Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
Worked example
One company’s near-term targets, with the arithmetic
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Base year and most recent year | 2025 (the same year, so no progress adjustment) |
| Target year | 2030, as R7 recommends |
| Scope 1 | 6,000 tCO2e |
| Scope 2 (location-based, used consistently under C8) | 4,000 tCO2e |
| Scope 3 | 40,000 tCO2e, of which category 1 is 24,000 and category 4 is 3,500 |
| Target | Rate before the floor | Floor | Rate used | Cut 2025–2030 | Target-year tCO2e |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scope 1 | 90% ÷ (2050 − 2025) = 3.6% | 4.2% | 4.2% a year | 21% | 6,000 × 0.79 = 4,740 |
| Scope 2 | 100% ÷ (2040 − 2025) = 6.67% | 4.2% | 6.67% a year | 33.3% | 4,000 × 0.667 = 2,667 |
| Scope 3, categories 1 and 4 (well-below 2°C) | 75% ÷ 25 = 3.0% | 2.5% | 3.0% a year | 15% | 27,500 × 0.85 = 23,375 |
Coverage comes first: C5 needs targets over at least 9,500 of the 10,000 tonnes of scope 1 and 2, and this company covers all of it.
Scope 3 is 40,000 ÷ 50,000 = 80% of the total, so C4 requires a scope 3 target.
C6 needs at least 0.67 × 40,000 = 26,800 tonnes covered, and categories 1 and 4 together are 27,500 tonnes, or 68.75%.
Set as separate targets, scope 1 and 2 come to 4,740 + 2,667 = 7,407 tonnes in 2030, 25.9% below 10,000.
A combined scope 1 and 2 target is calculated on a blended rate instead; Table 1 of the appendix gives 5.13% a year for a 2025 base year where the two scopes are equal.
The scope 3 target would read: reduce absolute scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services and upstream transportation and distribution 15% by 2030 from a 2025 base year.
These are minimums: the tools in the Validation Portal do the official calculation, and SBTi Services checks what is submitted, not this example.
Value chain
Scope 3 science-based targets: the Science Based Targets initiative criteria
Scope 3 is where most of the work in an SBTi submission goes, because C9 requires a complete gross inventory before any target can be set.
Read the provisions and qualifications
The inventory follows the fifteen categories of the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard, using each category’s minimum boundary.
Emissions outside a category’s minimum boundary are optional, and under R2 a target on them cannot count towards the 67% in C6.
Engagement targets can carry part of the 67%: under C19 the target language states the share of emissions covered or, failing that, the share of procurement spend, with an emissions estimate for the spend so C6 can be checked.
A supplier engagement target must be fulfilled within five years of submission, and the suppliers’ targets must meet the latest near-term criteria; R9 recommends but does not require them to be validated.
A company that sells or distributes natural gas or other fossil fuels sets a separate 1.5°C target on category 11 whatever its share, under C4 and C22.
The SBTi does not currently validate companies involved in fossil fuel exploration, extraction, mining or production, under C23.
The categories, and the data problems each brings, are covered in our scope 3 emissions guide, and UK SRS’s own scope 3 rules are on UK SRS scope 3 reporting.
Module 01 / 04
Gross inventory
Module 02 / 04
Categories
Module 03 / 04
Minimum boundary
Module 04 / 04
Engagement
Routes
Science Based Targets initiative criteria for SMEs, FLAG and financial institutions
Not every organisation takes the corporate route.
Read the provisions and qualifications
The SME route is open only to a company that meets all four gates in question 6 of the SME FAQs — under 10,000 tCO2e of scope 1 and location-based scope 2, not a financial institution or in oil and gas, not required to use sector-specific criteria, and not a subsidiary of a parent in the corporate route.
It must then meet three or more of four tests: fewer than 250 employees, turnover under €50 million, total assets under €25 million, and not in a mandatory FLAG sector.
The size figures are in euros because SBTi Services updated them in December 2023 in line with the EU’s CSRD thresholds for SMEs; they are not the Companies Act’s.
SMEs skip the commitment stage, choose predefined options in the Validation Portal, and set near-term targets for scope 1 and 2 only, with a commitment to measure and reduce scope 3.
FLAG. The SBTi’s FLAG page requires FLAG targets from food production, food and beverage processing, food and staples retailing and tobacco, and from any company whose FLAG emissions exceed 20% of its total.
A long-term FLAG target cuts at least 72% by 2050, and a no-deforestation commitment is mandatory; without it there is no FLAG target.
Financial institutions. The SBTi launched its first Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard in July 2025, beside the near-term criteria for FIs updated in 2024.
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SME gates
Module 03 / 04
SME tests
Module 04 / 04
Definitions
Tables and tools
SME route or corporate route · and the fee
All four gates are met and 4 of the four size and sector tests, so the SME route is likely to be open.
SBTi Services confirms it from your financial statements at registration, and you may still choose the corporate route.
SME Tier 2 (turnover of €5 million or more)
Near-term targets: £1,493
Net-zero targets (needs approved near-term): £1,493
Near-term and net-zero together: £2,612
Rules from the SBTi Services SME FAQs v6.2 (Q6) and Target Validation Service Offerings v6.1 (Tables 1 and 4, effective 5 January 2026). Pounds exclude 20% VAT and use the £1 = $1.34 rate SBTi Services states. Discounts are not modelled.
Nothing you enter is stored or sent.
Standard versions
V1.3.1 now, V2.0 from 2027
The SBTi published Version 2.0 of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard on 11 June 2026.
It is final, but SBTi Services will not validate against it until 1 February 2027, and the launch blog tells companies with commitments or renewals due in 2026 or 2027 to keep using V1.3.1.
The Transition Guide and the Standard’s own version table agree on the dates in the timeline; one other SBTi document gives a different effective date and one blog a different closing date, so we cite the two that agree.
More than 11,000 companies hold targets validated under Version 1 or the near-term criteria, and the SBTi says those targets remain fully valid through their cycle, subject to the five-year review.
What V2.0 changes — two company categories, a five-year cycle with an end-of-cycle assessment, separate scope 1 and scope 2 targets on the location-based inventory, and assurance for the larger category — is the subject of our guide to the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.
- 14 Apr 2026Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1 and the new method
In effect with CNZS V1.3.1.
- 11 Jun 2026CNZS V2.0 published
Final text; not yet usable for validation.
- 1 Oct 2026V2.0 validation resources
Due from SBTi Services, per the Transition Guide.
- 31 Jan 2027Separate commitments close
After this, one commitment, fulfilled under V2.0.
- 1 Feb 2027V2.0 validations open
Either version may be used.
- 31 Jan 2028V1.3.1 closes
Last day for V1.3.1 and Near-Term Criteria submissions.
- 1 Feb 2028V2.0 mandatory
Every new submission uses V2.0.
Legal status
Is SBTi mandatory in the UK?
No: no UK law requires a company to set a science-based target or to have one validated.
Read the provisions and qualifications
The phrase “setting science-based targets is entirely voluntary” is the SBTi’s own.
SBTi targets reach UK reporting through disclosure instead.
UK SRS S2, published by the Department for Business and Trade on 25 February 2026, asks an entity applying it to describe the climate targets it has set, and ¶34(a) asks “whether the target and the methodology for setting the target has been validated by a third party”.
¶33(b) gives “conformance with science-based initiatives” as an example of a target’s objective.
The UK SRS standards are voluntary for any entity, as the government’s UK SRS guidance says.
The FCA’s final rules, PS26/19 of 30 September 2026, require listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 to report against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with first reports in 2028 (PS26/19 ¶¶3.6 and 3.12).
Nothing in those rules requires a target to exist, or to be SBTi-validated: a company with no target says so, and a company with an unvalidated target says that too.
The rules finalise the FCA’s consultation, CP26/5; who is in scope is set out on who is in scope of UK SRS, and what comply or explain asks on UK SRS compliance.
Customers, lenders and investors may still ask for SBTi targets, but that is commercial pressure, not a legal duty.
Module 01 / 04
Voluntary targets
Module 02 / 04
SBTi wording
Module 03 / 04
Disclosure
Module 04 / 04
UK SRS
UK SRS S2 ¶¶33–36
How an SBTi target fills the UK SRS S2 fields
A company with SBTi targets that reports under UK SRS S2 already holds most of what paragraphs 33 to 36 ask for.
The table maps each field to what the SBTi process produces.
| UK SRS S2 | What must be disclosed | Where SBTi work supplies it |
|---|---|---|
| ¶33(a), (g) | The metric; absolute or intensity | The validated target wording, for example absolute tCO2e |
| ¶33(b) | The objective of the target | State that it is SBTi-validated, and to which temperature goal |
| ¶33(c) | The part of the entity covered | The C1 boundary, with any C5 exclusions |
| ¶33(d)–(f) | Period, base period, milestones | Base year and target year; near-term targets as milestones |
| ¶34(a) | Whether a third party validated the target and methodology | SBTi Services validation and the dashboard entry |
| ¶34(b)–(d) | Review, monitoring and revisions | The five-year review (C26) and any recalculation (C27), with the trigger |
| ¶35 | Performance against each target and trends | The annual progress disclosure C25 already requires |
| ¶36(a)–(b) | Gases and scopes per GHG target | The seven gases (C2) and the scope coverage in the target wording |
| ¶36(c) | Gross or net; a net target also needs its gross target | SBTi near-term targets are gross: credits do not count (C11) |
| ¶36(d) | Whether a sectoral decarbonisation approach was used | Yes if an SBTi sector pathway was used; no for the absolute contraction approach |
| ¶36(e) | Planned use of carbon credits to meet any net target | Only if the company also has a net target |
Two differences need care.
C8 lets an SBTi target track scope 2 on either the location-based or the market-based figure, used consistently; UK SRS S2 ¶29(a)(v) requires location-based scope 2 and leaves market-based optional, so a company tracking its target on market-based numbers still reports the location-based figure and should say which one the target uses.
Paragraph 33 also reaches every climate target, not only SBTi ones, so a renewable electricity pledge or an unvalidated net-zero ambition is disclosed too, and ¶34(a) shows which were validated.
The scope 2 methods are compared on our scope 2 emissions page, and the targets disclosures on climate transition plans, where UK SRS S2 asks about any plan the entity has.
Procurement
Science based targets and carbon reduction plans
For many UK suppliers the first brush with net-zero targets is a Carbon Reduction Plan under Procurement Policy Note 006, not the SBTi.
The two are often confused, and they are different instruments with different scope.
The plan’s contents come from the Technical Standard: a commitment to net zero by 2050 in the UK, scope 1 and 2 and five scope 3 categories, publication on the supplier’s website, annual review, and sign-off by the board or equivalent.
The Technical Standard does not mention the SBTi, so a validated target is a strong thing to put in a plan, but the plan does not need one.
The usual failure is drift: a plan that states a 2030 cut different from the validated target, or a baseline year that differs from the SBTi base year.
Our guide to PPN 006 carbon reduction plans sets out the threshold and the five categories.
| SBTi target | PPN 006 plan | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Voluntary, validated reduction targets | A selection criterion in some central government procurements |
| When it applies | When a company chooses | Contracts above £5 million a year including VAT |
| Scope 3 | Full inventory; target at 40% or more | Five named categories |
| Net-zero date | 2050 at the latest | Commitment to net zero by 2050 in the UK |
| Sign-off | None in the criteria | Board of directors or equivalent |
| Checked by | SBTi Services | The contracting authority |
Accounting
The inventory under every target, and where credits sit
The near-term criteria’s introduction is blunt: companies must follow the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, the Scope 2 Guidance and the Scope 3 Standard.
Read the provisions and qualifications
Footnote 6 adds that accounting not proven to follow the GHG Protocol will not be accepted.
The GHG Protocol is itself mid-revision: its standard development plan estimates a consolidated draft for public consultation in the second quarter of 2027 and a published revised standard in the fourth quarter of 2028.
Until then the existing standards stay in effect, and so does the SBTi’s reliance on them.
Carbon credits never reduce the inventory a target is measured against, and avoided emissions sit outside it entirely.
The inventory boundary and consolidation choices are explained on our scope 1, 2 and 3 explainer.
Module 01 / 04
GHG standards
Module 02 / 04
Acceptance
Module 03 / 04
Revision
Module 04 / 04
Current standards
Debate
Criticisms of the SBTi, with their sources
The SBTi is widely used and widely argued about, and this page records the arguments without taking a side.
The 2024 credits dispute. On 9 April 2024 the Board of Trustees said the SBTi had decided to extend the use of environmental attribute certificates for scope 3 abatement beyond the current limits.
Staff objected and called for the decision to be reversed, as Reuters reported.
On 12 April 2024 the Board clarified that no change had been made to SBTi standards and that any change would follow its standard-setting procedure.
Governance and funding. The staff letter, as ESG Dive reported, warned against decisions influenced by lobbyists; a structural criticism is that validated companies pay the validator, which SBTi Services answers by describing itself as independent of the standard-setter.
Ambition. Scope 3 targets need only be well-below 2°C, and under Version 1 a target is assessed when submitted while progress is then self-reported each year.
V2.0 adds an end-of-cycle assessment against targets, which goes to that second point.
The April 2026 method change drew its own debate, because it lowers the minimum near-term cut for recent base years; the SBTi’s case is that it spreads the same net-zero reduction over a longer period.
Test yourself
Seven SBTi claims, true or false
Most SBTi mistakes in UK reports come from three places.
A voluntary standard read as law, a published standard read as one in force, and credits counted where the criteria do not let them count.
Each answer on the panel names the criterion or paragraph that settles it.
If a target is part of a wider plan, our transition plan guide covers what the UK expects a plan to say, and you can book a free 15-minute call or put a harder question to the member agent after creating a free account.
SBTi: true or false?
UK law requires large companies to set a science-based target.
Carbon credits bought in 2026 can count towards a near-term target’s reduction.
A target submitted in November 2026 can be validated under Net-Zero Standard V2.0.
Scope 1 and scope 2 near-term targets must share a base year.
A source the company thinks is negligible can be left out of the scope 3 inventory without disclosure.
Choosing a 2030 target year exempts a near-term target from the 5–10 year window.
A UK SRS S2 reporter whose SBTi target tracks market-based scope 2 still discloses location-based scope 2.
0 of 7 answered.
Nothing you choose is stored or sent.
A reading and preparation sequence
Science-based targets: from the question to the evidence
- Step 0101
SBTi purpose
The Science Based Targets initiative writes the rules that define a science-based corporate emissions target.Read the detail. - Step 0202
Two organisations
The charity writes the criteria and its subsidiary, SBTi Services, validates targets against them.Read the detail. - Step 0303
Net-zero package
A net-zero target under V1.3.1 is a package: near-term targets, a long-term target and a commitment to neutralise what is left.Read the detail. - Step 0404
Value chain
Scope 3 is where most of the work in an SBTi submission goes, because C9 requires a complete gross inventory before any target can be set.Read the detail. - Step 0505
Applicable route
Not every organisation takes the corporate route.Read the detail. - Step 0606
UK relationship
No: no UK law requires a company to set a science-based target or to have one validated.Read the detail. - Step 0707
Accounting basis
The near-term criteria’s introduction is blunt: companies must follow the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, the Scope 2 Guidance and the Scope 3 Standard.Read the detail.
Dates, with their status
The relevant dates, drawn in order
- 11 June 202601
V2.0 published
Publication is distinct from the opening of target validation. - 1 February 202702
General corporate V2.0 validation opens
Check financial-institution and sector-specific availability separately. The general corporate opening is not a promise that every route is available. - 31 January 202803
V1.3.1 submission window closes
The final date for submissions through the general V1.3.1 corporate transition window. - 1 February 202804
New corporate submissions use V2.0
Apply the relevant route and sector guidance; existing validated targets are not retrospectively invalidated by the transition.
Continue your research
Related reporting guides, one question at a time
Frequently asked
SBTi criteria questions, answered
What does SBTi stand for?
SBTi stands for the Science Based Targets initiative.
It is a charity registered in England and Wales (number 1205768) that writes the criteria companies and financial institutions use to set greenhouse gas reduction targets consistent with climate science.
Its wholly owned subsidiary, SBTi Services Limited, validates targets against those criteria.
Is SBTi mandatory?
No. No UK law requires a company to set or validate a science-based target, and the SBTi describes target-setting as voluntary.
A listed company reporting against UK SRS under the FCA’s final rules discloses the climate targets it has, and whether a third party validated them, on a comply-or-explain basis; nothing requires the target to be an SBTi one.
What are the SBTi guidelines in force today?
For a corporate near-term target, the Corporate Near-Term Criteria version 5.3.1, in effect from 14 April 2026.
For a net-zero target, the Corporate Net-Zero Standard version 1.3.1.
The Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 was published on 11 June 2026, but validations against it open only on 1 February 2027.
What is the SBTi near-term target requirement for scope 3?
Under criterion C4 of the Near-Term Criteria, a company whose relevant scope 3 emissions are 40% or more of its total scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions must include scope 3 in its near-term targets.
Under C6 those targets, alone or with supplier or customer engagement targets, must cover at least 67% of total reported and excluded scope 3 emissions, and under C18 they must be at least consistent with well-below 2°C.
How much must emissions fall under an SBTi near-term target?
Since 14 April 2026 the minimum depends on the base year and target year.
For separate targets with a 2025 base year and a 2030 target year, the Method Appendix gives a scope 1 rate of 3.60% a year corrected up to the 4.2% floor (21% over five years), a scope 2 rate of 6.67% a year (33.3%), and a well-below 2°C scope 3 rate of 3.00% a year (15%).
Can carbon credits count towards an SBTi target?
Not as reductions.
Near-Term Criteria C11 says the use of carbon credits must not be counted as emission reductions toward near-term targets.
Under Net-Zero Standard V1.3.1 credits may neutralise residual emissions at the net-zero target date or finance mitigation beyond the targets.
Avoided emissions do not count either (C12).
Can a small company set science-based targets?
Yes.
SBTi Services runs an SME route for companies with under 10,000 tCO2e of scope 1 and location-based scope 2 that pass three further gates and at least three of four size and sector tests.
SMEs skip the commitment stage and set near-term targets for scope 1 and 2 only.
A UK-registered SME pays £933 or £1,493 plus VAT for near-term validation, depending on turnover.
Which SBTi standard should a UK company use in 2026?
Version 1.3.1 of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard, with the Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1.
The SBTi tells companies with commitments or renewals due in 2026 or 2027 to use V1.3.1.
Validations under V2.0 open on 1 February 2027; V1.3.1 submissions close on 31 January 2028, after which V2.0 is mandatory for every new submission.
What is the SBTi cross-sector pathway?
It is the default way to set a near-term target: an absolute cut in emissions at the rate the SBTi’s method sets, the same for every sector.
The SBTi says 90% of companies that set science-based targets use it.
Sector-specific pathways exist for some heavy-emitting sectors, and a company required to use one cannot take the SME route.
Do SBTi targets have to cover all greenhouse gases?
Yes.
Criterion C2 of the Near-Term Criteria requires the inventory to cover the seven gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulphur hexafluoride and nitrogen trifluoride.
Emissions thought negligible are not a reason to leave a source out (C9, footnote 9); they are quantified or disclosed as an exclusion.
Can renewable electricity count instead of a scope 2 target?
Yes, as an alternative.
Criterion C21 accepts a target to procure 80% renewable electricity by 2025 and 100% by 2030 in place of a scope 2 reduction target.
Net-Zero Standard V2.0 changes the scope 2 rules, so a company planning targets for submission from 2027 should read both.
Does the SBTi validate oil and gas companies?
Not under the corporate near-term criteria at present.
Criterion C23 says the SBTi does not currently validate companies involved in fossil fuel exploration, extraction, mining or production.
Companies that sell fossil fuels must include scope 3 in their targets whatever its share of their emissions (C4).
Are there SBTi standards for banks and investors?
Yes.
The SBTi launched its first Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard in July 2025, beside the near-term criteria for financial institutions updated to version 2 in 2024.
Financial institutions cannot use the SME route, and their validation follows its own service timings, with results within 60 days rather than the 40 business days for corporates.
What is the SBTi Target Dashboard?
It is the SBTi’s public list of companies and financial institutions with validated targets, active commitments, and commitments removed because no targets were submitted within 24 months.
It is updated every Thursday, with commitment removals ordinarily on the first Thursday of the month.
A target is SBTi-validated only if it appears there as targets set.
What are the main criticisms of the SBTi?
The most public was April 2024, when the Board said it would extend the use of environmental attribute certificates for scope 3 abatement, staff objected, and the Board clarified three days later that no change had been made to SBTi standards.
Other criticisms concern scope 3 ambition set at well-below 2°C rather than 1.5°C, and a model in which validated companies pay the validator.
Does SBTi validation satisfy UK SRS S2?
It supplies most of the content but is not a requirement.
UK SRS S2 paragraph 33 asks about every climate target the entity has, paragraph 34(a) asks whether a third party validated each target and its methodology, and paragraph 36 asks which gases and scopes each GHG target covers and whether it is gross or net.
An SBTi target answers those questions; a company without one discloses the targets it does have.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
- Science Based Targets initiativeCorporate Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1 (April 2026), criteria C1–C28
Every near-term rule on this page, by criterion number; in effect from 14 April 2026.
- Science Based Targets initiativeCorporate Net-Zero Standard Criteria V1.3.1, C7, C12, C14, C15
Long-term coverage, the definition of net zero and the carbon credit rule.
- Science Based Targets initiativeCNZS V1.3.1 Method Appendix v1.0 (April 2026), Tables 1–2 and Equations 1–8
The revised absolute contraction approach the calculator applies.
- Science Based Targets initiativeThe SBTi updates the Absolute Contraction Approach (29 April 2026)
The 4.2% floor unchanged; earlier validated targets unaffected.
- Science Based Targets initiativeThe new Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0
V2.0 published 11 June 2026; credits as a complement, not a substitute.
- SBTi ServicesGuide for Companies in the Transition to CNZS V2.0 (June 2026), Tables 1, 3 and 4
The validation dates and the commitment options.
- Science Based Targets initiativeThe Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 is here: what comes next (11 June 2026)
More than 11,000 companies with validated targets; existing targets stay valid.
- SBTi ServicesSmall and Medium-sized Enterprises FAQs, version 6.2 (July 2026), Q2, Q6, Q25
The SME route: four gates, then three of four tests.
- SBTi ServicesTarget Validation Service Offerings, version 6.1 (effective 5 January 2026), Tables 1 and 4
Tiers and the published validation fees.
- Science Based Targets initiativeForest, Land and Agriculture (FLAG)
Who must set FLAG targets; the 72% long-term reduction; the no-deforestation commitment.
- Science Based Targets initiativeFinancial Institutions
The Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard of July 2025.
- Science Based Targets initiativeTarget Dashboard
Updated every Thursday; committed, targets set and commitment removed.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, ¶¶29, 33–36
Target disclosures, gross and net targets, location-based scope 2.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19: Aligning listed issuers’ sustainability disclosures with international standards
Comply or explain against UK SRS for five listing categories from 2027.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 006 Technical Standard for completion of Carbon Reduction Plans
The plan’s contents and sign-off, which do not mention the SBTi.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
The accounting basis every SBTi inventory follows.