Technical governance

The SBTi’s technical governance is central to our work and aims to support the development of impactful and effective standards, methods and guidance.

The SBTi has developed a technical governance model to enhance the effectiveness, rigor, and credibility of our standards, methods and guidance and to support the wide range of stakeholders they impact. We have put in place transparent  governance mechanisms to support  independent and objective technical decision-making.

Technical Council

The SBTi Technical Council is an independent deliberation and technical decision-making body initially convened in 2023. The Council has delegated authority from the SBTi Board of Trustees to review and approve SBTi Standards and other normative documentation. This group operates exclusively in the public interest. See the Terms of Reference for the current Technical Council.

Scope and role

The scope of the Technical Council covers decision making for all normative documentation, including SBTi principles, standards, mitigation pathways and methods that inform emission and non-emission benchmarks used across SBTi Standards, and other normative documents that supplement SBTi Standards (which can include annexes, guidelines, position papers, technical policies, etc.). The Technical Council reviews and approves, and recommends that the Board adopts normative elements of the SBTi framework.

Term length and renewal model

From July 2026, the Technical Council will move to a staggered renewal model, with five new members appointed each year, supporting continuity while ensuring diversity of expertise, skills, regions, and stakeholder perspectives. To operationalize this model, five members from the current cohort will be renewed for a 12-month period, five members will be renewed for a 24-month period, and five new members will be appointed for a 36-month period.

Call for applications

The SBTi recently held an open call for applications for the appointment of five new Technical Council members for a three-year term (July 2026–June 2029). A Nomination Committee agreed by the current Technical Council Chair and SBTi Board of Trustees Chair will oversee candidate screening, interviews, and recommendations for the next term. The process will follow the SBTi’s established governance policies. Further details are outlined in the updated Technical Council Terms of Reference (Version 3) for the next term–expected to begin on July 1, 2026. 

Technical Council Meeting Minutes

Our validation work sits within the wholly-owned subsidiary, SBTi Services Limited.

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