Technical governance

The SBTi’s robust technical governance is central to our work and supports 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 to support the wide range of stakeholders they impact. We have put in place clear, transparent and robust governance mechanisms for independent and objective technical decision-making.

At the core of our approach are several bodies formed of independent experts: the Technical Council, a Technical Advisory Group and Scientific Advisory Group. In addition, distinct Expert Advisory Groups (EAGs) are convened to support the development of specific projects, such as development of sector guidance.

The roles for these bodies, and how they collectively support decision-making, are set out below.

Standard Operating Procedure for the Development of SBTi Standards - Version 1

Technical Council

The SBTi Technical Council is an independent deliberation and technical decision-making body. Appointed and overseen by the SBTi’s Board of Trustees. The Council has delegated authority to review and approve SBTi standards and other normative documentation. The members sit for a renewable term of two years, including a Chair who acts as liaison between the Council and the Board. This group operates exclusively in the public interest.

The scope of the Technical Council covers 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 (including 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.

Technical Council Meeting Minutes

To provide transparency regarding discussions, decisions and actions taken by the Technical Council, its meeting minutes are available to download below.

Advisory groups

Technical Advisory Group (TAG)

The TAG is an advisory body that provides expert advice throughout the development or revision of SBTi technical outputs (e.g. standards, guidance documents, etc.). TAG members have in-depth knowledge of climate change mitigation or expertise in science-based target setting. They bring diverse perspectives from business, academia, government, non-profit and multilateral organizations. Members are appointed for a fixed-term of two years. The group serves in an advisory capacity and is not a decision-making body, and the scope of the TAG spans all technical developments for which an ad-hoc Expert Advisory Group has not been created (see below). For more information, please see the Terms of Reference for the TAG.

View the TAG

Scientific Advisory Group (SAG)

An advisory body comprised of experts from the scientific community with specialized expertise in climate science and climate change mitigation. The SAG provides advice to ensure the robustness of the pathways and methods that underpin science-based target-setting. The group serves in an advisory capacity and is not a decision-making body.

OPEN CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE SBTi SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY GROUP

To complement existing areas of expertise and to ensure wider regional diversity, we are currently seeking to appoint five new members to the SAG. We would particularly like to hear from applicants from the Global South and with leading expertise in one of the following research areas:

Climate Justice and Equity
Market based climate policy instruments
Green Finance

Please consult the SAG Terms of Reference for details on the appointment process, required time commitment, expectations and other important information.

To apply to join the SAG, please follow the instructions on the application form.

The SBTi will review submitted information and select members based on the composition goals as well as where expertise gaps remain with respect to our future work.

View the SAG

Expert Advisory Groups (EAG)

Project-specific multi-stakeholder bodies that provide advice throughout the development of specific projects, EAGs are appointed by the project lead for the duration of a project. The scope of EAGs is limited to the project for which they were created. EAGs serve in an advisory capacity and are not decision-making bodies.

A comparative overview can be found in the table below: