Update (September 2026): SBTi published the final Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 on 11 June 2026. Companies may submit under V1.3.1 or V2.0 from Q1 2027 until 31 January 2028, after which V2.0 is mandatory; it separates Scope 1 from Scope 2 targets, requires base-year inventory assurance for larger companies and annual public progress reporting. For financial institutions the FINZ standard applies to new targets from January 2027 and requires phasing out general-purpose financing of oil and gas expansion by 2030. The oil and gas sector standard remains paused.
The SBTi is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi call to action is one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments.
The latest climate science sends a clear warning that we must dramatically curb temperature rise to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Science-based targets show companies and financial institutions how much and how quickly they need to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi):
- Defines and promotes best practice in emissions reductions and net-zero targets in line with climate science.
- Provides technical assistance and expert resources to companies who set science-based targets in line with the latest climate science.
- Brings together a team of experts to provide companies with independent assessment and validation of targets.
- The SBTi is the lead partner of the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign - an urgent call to action from a global coalition of UN agencies, business and industry leaders, mobilizing companies to set net-zero science-based targets in line with a 1.5°C future.
The change has already begun and action is gaining pace. Over 2,000 organizations worldwide are leading the transition to a net-zero economy by setting emissions reduction targets grounded in climate science through the SBTi.
