The Corporate Net-Zero Standard Development

The SBTi has published Version 2.0 of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard following a rigorous development process, in line with the Standard Operating Procedure for Development of SBTi Standards. Read more about why and how it was developed below. 

Why the Standard has been updated 

When the first Corporate Net-Zero Standard was launched in 2021, it helped establish a common, robust, science-based understanding of net-zero at a time when there was no widely accepted definition. Since then, the business, policy and scientific landscape has evolved significantly.

Today, more than 11,000 companies and financial institutions have set science-based targets. As adoption has grown, so too has the experience gained from implementing the Standard across different sectors, regions and business contexts.

Version 2.0 builds on the strong foundations established by Version 1. It incorporates advances in climate science, lessons learned from implementation and extensive stakeholder feedback. The result is a practical, accessible, and relevant framework for companies at every stage of the net-zero transition.

Read more about the project in its Terms of Reference.  

Who was involved in the revision process

Version 2.0 was developed through a broad, multi-stakeholder process in line with the SBTi’s Standard Operating Procedure for Development of Standards. The SBTi Technical Department led the revision process. The independent Technical Council reviewed and approved the Standard, and the Board of Trustees formally adopted it.

The process was informed by extensive external input. Two public consultations on draft versions published in March and November 2025 gathered feedback from more than 1,800 stakeholders. Over 320 companies participated in phase one of pilot testing, and more than 50 companies participated in phase two. In addition, more than 100 independent experts, selected from a pool of around 1,000 applicants, contributed through Expert Working Groups that met regularly throughout the drafting process.

This combination of stakeholder engagement, practical testing and independent oversight helped ensure the revised Standard balances rigor, credibility and implementability for businesses of all sizes, in any sector and geography, to advance their net-zero ambitions.

Expert Working Groups

The SBTi convened several topic-specific Expert Working Groups (EWGs) to support the revision of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard:

  • Scope 2: Addressing emissions from purchased or acquired electricity to ensure effective decarbonization.
  • Scope 3: Target-setting approaches, strategies and interventions for addressing scope 3 emissions.
  • Removals: Neutralization and carbon dioxide removal (CDR), particularly regarding removals targets.
  • Ongoing emissions and BVCM: Addressing ongoing emissions in the transition to net-zero through beyond value chain mitigation (BVCM) activities, including the scale of action and allowable measures.
  • Data quality, data assurance and claims: Data quality and assurance and substantiation of claims.

EWG members volunteered in a personal capacity to provide technical advice throughout the project. While their expertise helped inform the technical assessment of input from the development process, final content decisions rested solely with the SBTi, which were deliberated and approved by the Technical Council, as per the Standard Operating Procedure for Development of SBTi Standards. As a result, the final output does not necessarily represent or imply endorsement by individual EWG members or their employers.

To provide transparency regarding discussions and actions taken by the EWGs, meeting minutes are available to download. General EWG minutes are provided below, and minutes for each EWG can be found in the sections that follow.

The members of the Expert Working Group on scope 2 are:

  • Drew Beyer – RMI
  • Lucile Bourguet – Fortescue
  • Matthew Brander – University of Edinburgh
  • Elliott Engelmann – World Resources Institute / GHG Protocol
  • Peggy Kellen – Center for Resource Solutions (CRS)
  • Rachel Kitchin – Stand.earth
  • Matt Konieczny – Watershed
  • Erik Landry – GRESB
  • Aindrias Lefévère – EDF Group
  • Skye Lei – ServiceNow
  • Doug Miller – Energy Peace Partners
  • Alex Piper – EnergyTag
  • Mohamad Salah – Sidi Kerir For Petrochemicals company (SIDPEC)
  • Emma Saraff – Asia Clean Energy Coalition
  • Chris St John Cox – Energy Systems Catapult
  • Rachel Swiatek – Climate Group
  • Kae Takase – Renewable Energy Institute
  • Roble Velasco-Rosenheim – The I-TRACK Standard Foundation
  • Molly Walton – We Mean Business Coalition
  • Jinfeng ZHOU – China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF)

To provide transparency regarding discussions and actions taken by the Expert Working Group on scope 2, its meeting minutes are available to download below.

The members of the Expert Working Group on scope 3 are:

  • Kaya Axelsson – Oxford Net Zero
  • Eleanor Bastian – Amazon
  • Alissa Benchimol – Greenhouse Gas Management Institute
  • Derik Broekhoff – Stockholm Environment Institute - US Center
  • Andres Chang – University of Toronto
  • Nicolas Clerget – The Heineken Company
  • Alli Devlin – ResponsibleSteel
  • Lydia Elliott – We Mean Business Coalition
  • Frederic Hans – NewClimate Institute
  • Svend Hansen – Ørsted
  • Laura Hutchinson – Center for Green Market Activation
  • Krutarth Jhaveri – Apple
  • Miriam Kugele – Aga Khan University
  • Leonardo Lemmi Boeri – A.P. Møller-Maersk
  • Alan Lewis – Smart Freight Centre
  • Asmita Marathe – Bureau Veritas
  • Aditya Mishra – Proforest Europe
  • Silvana Paniagua Tufinio – VCI - Value Change Initiative
  • Sriram Rajagopal – IKEA (Inter IKEA Group)
  • Sam Van den plas – Carbon Market Watch
  • Gibran Vita – Rabobank
  • Lachlan Wright – Rocky Mountain Institute

To provide transparency regarding discussions and actions taken by the Expert Working Group on scope 3, its meeting minutes are available to download below.

The members of the Expert Working Group on removals are:

  • Shantanu Agarwal – Mati Carbon PBC
  • Toby Bryce – Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture
  • Mai Bui – Supercritical
  • Fabiola De Simone – Carbon Market Watch
  • John Dulac – Saint-Gobain
  • Ankita Garg – Varaha ClimateAg Private Limited
  • Noel Gurwick – University of Maryland
  • Hannah Hunt – Heineken
  • Injy Johnstone – University of Oxford
  • Sifa Kinoti – Octavia Carbon
  • Thea Lyngseth – ECOS - Environmental Coalition on Standards
  • Ryan Maloney – Apple
  • Eva Masa Pinto – Cemex
  • Kelly McNamara – Food System Innovations
  • Silke Mooldijk – NewClimate Institute
  • Jose Moreira – Institute of Energy and Environment University of Sao Paulo (IEE-USP0)
  • Fiona Perera – Gold Standard
  • Lene Petersen – WWF
  • Thuy Phung – PepsiCo
  • Matt Ramlow – World Resources Institute / GHG Protocol
  • Sarita Severien – Suzano
  • Hilde Stroot – Oxfam
  • Eve Tamme – Climate Principles
  • Louis Uzor – Carbon Gap

To provide transparency regarding discussions and actions taken by the Expert Working Group on removals, its meeting minutes are available to download below.

The members of the Expert Working Group on ongoing emissions and BVCM are:

  • Giulia Carbone – WBCSD
  • Melissa Chavana – SIG Combibloc
  • Cindy Chiang – Netflix
  • Tim Clairs – Forest Integrity
  • Gilles Dufrasne – European Commission
  • Omonigho Erigha – Persistent Energy Capital
  • Robert Höglund – Marginal Carbon AB
  • Elijah Innes-Wimsatt – Conservation International
  • Nicolas Kreibich – Wuppertal Institute
  • Sophie Louise Gladov – Ørsted
  • Jessica Omukuti – University of Oxford
  • Abigail Paris – As You Sow
  • Jacqueline Persson – Oxfam
  • Sunita Purushottam – Mahindra Lifespaces
  • Aisha Rodriguez – VCMI
  • Morten Rossé – Lombard Odier Asset Managers
  • Seruni Salsabila – Catalyst of Change ASEAN (CoC ASEAN)
  • Daniel Schneiders – Bayer AG
  • Nathan Truitt – American Forest Foundation
  • Billie Wilcox Brooke – ISEAL

To provide transparency regarding discussions and actions taken by the Expert Working Group on ongoing emissions and BVCM, its meeting minutes are available to download below.

The members of the Expert Working Group on data quality, data assurance and claims are:

  • Chris Bayliss – Aluminium Stewardship Initiative
  • Anastasia Behr – UL Solutions
  • Tatiana Boldyreva – CDP
  • Paola Delgado Luna – Accountability Accelerator
  • Max Eichelbaum – RSB - Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials
  • Stephanie Glazer – RMHC. Inc.
  • Akshita Gupta – Greengage Environmental Ltd.
  • Polly Hemming – The Australia Institute
  • Vita Jarolimkova – SRT Group
  • Vincent Kong – Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited
  • Dan Magrath – Gold Standard
  • Patrick Mallet – ISEAL
  • Wren Montgomery – Western University
  • Laura Mora – Ecoverify
  • Laurence Opie – Green Guarantee Company
  • Florian Pothin – Toovalu / University of Rennes
  • Brad Schallert – Winrock International
  • Martha Stevenson – WWF
  • Sangwon Suh – Watershed
  • Claire Wigg – Exponential Roadmap Initiative
  • Aaron Wu – Slaughter and May

To provide transparency regarding discussions and actions taken by the Expert Working Group on data quality, data assurance and claims, its meeting minutes are available to download below.

FAQs

Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Corporate Net-Zero Standard in this document and explore this section. 

Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 is a significant step forward for the SBTi and includes the following key innovations:

  • Target setting:
    • Targets for different contexts: Science-based targets are offered for companies in different contexts, including sectors, geographies and legacy capital stocks.
    • Reflecting companies’ levers: Targets are designed to reflect levers that companies have and actions that they can and should take to manage transition risks and opportunities.
    • Set on best-efforts basis: Targets are set on a best-efforts basis subject to uncertainties and dependencies, with the expectation that companies use all levers to meet them, and are fully transparent about implementation progress.
  • Target implementation: The Standard includes an implementation hierarchy, starting with actions to reduce companies’ carbon footprints, to projects and use of market instruments in the context of activity pools and sector approaches.
  • Ongoing emissions responsibility: This is included in the Standard as a complement to—not a substitute for—companies reducing their carbon footprints, recognizing the need for development of carbon markets to meet international carbon objectives.

Companies are encouraged to begin preparing early by familiarizing themselves with the Standard and supporting resources available on our website. These materials are designed to help businesses build internal capability, understand the new requirements and prepare targets for submission. Companies can begin submitting targets for validation under Version 2.0 in Q1 2027.

You can learn more about the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 by:

  • Registering your interest here to learn more about the Standard, and what it means for your company.
  • Exploring the digital Standard to navigate its structure and understand how it is applied in practice.
  • Reviewing the flowchart for a clear overview of the Standard’s key elements.
  • Reading the blog for an overview of the main changes introduced in this version.
  • Exploring the explanatory blog to learn more about what follows after Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0.
  • Watching the launch video for a high-level introduction to the Standard’s core components.
  • Companies currently working towards setting targets under Version 1 or the near-term criteria: Companies currently moving from commitments to setting targets, or target renewal, will have been planning against Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version V1.3.1 and should continue to use this, laying a strong foundation to move to Version 2.0 for the subsequent cycle. Innovations of Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 will be available for users of Version 1, while flexibilities under Version 1 may be attractive (e.g., combined scopes 1 and 2 targets, scope 3 target boundary, data assurance requirements). Version 1 will remain open for target submission until the end of 2027.
  • Companies with 2030 targets: These companies should continue to use Version 1 for the current cycle, and start to set targets for the next cycle (2030-35) from 2028, to allow sufficient lead-time for implementation. In the meantime, and for the remainder of the target cycle, innovations of Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 will be available for users of Version 1, as above.

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