Yes: no submission
Same base year, ambition, method and target year: the company is simply updating its base-year emissions.
SBTi FAQSBTi recalculation · rebaselining and updates
SBTi recalculation: when a target must be updated
SBTi recalculation is triggered when a significant change, 5% or more of the base-year emissions inside a target, could compromise a validated target; if the recalculated target still meets the criteria, nothing needs resubmitting.
The Science Based Targets initiative recalculation rules sit in Near-Term Criteria C26 and C27, and an update, when needed, is a paid service.
Triggers
SBTi recalculation triggers: criterion C27
| Trigger | Example |
|---|---|
| Scope 3 becomes 40% or more of total emissions | Growth in purchased goods makes Scope 3 relevant |
| A change in the consolidation approach | Moving from operational control to equity share |
| Exclusions change significantly | An excluded site grows |
| Significant changes in structure or activities | An acquisition, divestiture, merger, insourcing or outsourcing |
| Data or method changes with a significant effect | Discovering significant errors in the base year |
| Other significant changes to projections or assumptions | Growth assumptions behind an intensity target |
The decision
Science Based Targets initiative recalculation: update or not?
Base-year emissions recalculated
Is the target still within the criteria?
Is the target still within the criteria?
No: book an update
Update the affected targets and book a target update, assessed against the criteria in force at submission.
SBTi FAQNew base year or method
A full target validation, not an update.
Validation SOP V1.2The SBTi does not allow rolling base years. Only the affected targets are reassessed: “Non-affected active targets are exempt from resubmission”.
Five-year review
SBTi recalculation and the five-year review
C26 requires every active target to be reviewed at least every five years against the latest criteria, and updated if it no longer meets them.
The SBTi stressed on 8 October 2026 that “A mandatory five-year review does not necessarily mean that a company needs to update its targets.”
Targets left unattended can now be marked Expired, for instance “At least one year has passed since the target year without new targets submitted for validation.”
Under V2.0, from 2027, the five-year review is retired because every target runs exactly five years, followed by an End-of-cycle Assessment.
5% is the SBTi’s number
The GHG Protocol sets no significance threshold for base-year recalculation; a company sets its own policy. The 5% here is the SBTi’s threshold for target recalculation.
Cost
What SBTi recalculation costs
A corporate near-term and/or net-zero update costs $5,500 to $10,000 by tier, one fee for both, and a FLAG or buildings update $4,500 to $8,000 (V6.1, Table 4).
An SME that has grown out of the SME route cannot use the update service (SME FAQs Q20).
Every fee is on the SBTi cost page; the inventory side of rebaselining is on the GHG Protocol page, and the target rules on the SBTi near-term targets page. The SBTi hub links every guide.
Frequently asked
Science Based Targets initiative recalculation, answered
When must an SBTi target be recalculated?
When a significant change could compromise it: Scope 3 reaching 40% of the total, a change of consolidation approach, significant changes to exclusions, company structure or activities, data or methods, or projections (Near-Term Criteria C27).
The significance threshold is 5% or less.
Does every recalculation need a new SBTi submission?
No. The SBTi’s FAQ says that if, after recalculating base-year emissions, the target still meets the criteria with the same base year, ambition, method and target year, the company is simply updating its base-year emissions and need not submit a formal update.
What does an SBTi target update cost?
Under Service Offerings V6.1 a corporate near-term and/or net-zero update costs $5,500 in Tier 1 to $10,000 in Tier 4, and a FLAG or buildings update $4,500 to $8,000.
What if we change our base year?
SBTi Services’ validation SOP says a change of base year or methodology needs a full target validation, not an update.
Is the 5% threshold an SBTi rule or a GHG Protocol rule?
The SBTi’s.
The GHG Protocol leaves the significance threshold for base-year recalculation to the company; the SBTi sets 5% or less for target recalculation.
What happens to SBTi targets that are never updated?
Under the status document in force since October 2026, a target can be marked Expired, for example when a year has passed after its target year without new targets, or when a five-year review deadline is missed.
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.
Checked against 11 sources fromScience Based Targets initiativeSBTi ServicesGHG Protocol
- Science Based Targets initiativeCorporate Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1
C26 review; C27 triggered recalculation; C28 validity.
- Science Based Targets initiativeFAQs: updating a baseline
When a recalculation needs no formal update.
- SBTi ServicesSOP for the Validation of SBTi Targets V1.2
Target update, five-year review and triggered recalculation validations.
- SBTi ServicesSBTi Services Glossary V1.0
Definition of a target update.
- SBTi ServicesTarget Validation Service Offerings V6.1
Update fees.
- Science Based Targets initiativeCommitment and Target Statuses V2.1
The Expired status.
- Science Based Targets initiativeFinancial Institutions Near-Term Criteria to continue without end date
A five-year review does not always mean an update.
- Science Based Targets initiativeCorporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 Criteria
Five-year targets and the End-of-cycle Assessment.
- Science Based Targets initiativeCNZS V2.0 Main Changes Document
The five-year review retired.
- SBTi ServicesFAQs for SMEs V6.2
Q20: no update service after leaving the SME route.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Standard
Base-year recalculation policy; no fixed threshold.