SBTi corporate Net-Zero standard V2.0: What changes and what it means for your business

The implementation hierarchy: Where market instruments now fit 

V2.0 introduces a three-tier hierarchy for target implementation: 

1. Direct activity-level reductions: the primary route, prioritized above all else 
2. Actions within shared systems: activity pools such as electricity grids or supply sheds 
3. Sector-level actions: permitted only where structural constraints genuinely prevent more direct action 

Book-and-claim mechanisms, mass balance commodity certificates, and energy attribute certificates sit at tiers two and three formally recognized, but subject to strict guardrails. 

The most demanding new requirement is system-level impact: programs issuing commodity or energy certificates must demonstrate that demand for those instruments actually decarbonizes the relevant system, not merely tracks attributes. Carbon bank models, which concentrate green attributes on a subset of products beyond what physically occurs, are explicitly prohibited. Geographic matching for electricity is also tightened: certificates must come from the same deliverability region as consumption, with limited exceptions for interconnected grids and new-build PPAs.  

Instruments deployed outside a company’s physical GHG inventory are limited to supporting system contribution claims and cannot be used to substantiate direct emissions reduction claims. The physical inventory remains the exclusive basis for any SBTi-recognised emissions reductions. Accordingly, actions and market instruments applied at the activity pool and sector levels must be reported separately, as additional activities contributing to value chain emissions reductions and not as substitutes for inventory-based progress. 

Assurance: From a one-time event to a continuous cycle 

The most structurally significant change introduced in V2.0 is the overhaul of the assurance model. Category A companies, defined as large companies globally and mid-sized companies in high-income countries, are now subject to mandatory independent third-party assurance at two distinct points in the validation cycle: 

• Target Validation (Assessment stage): limited assurance of the target base year GHG inventory (Scopes 1–3), low-carbon electricity calculations, and emissions from significant high-emitting value chain activities (EIAs).
• End-of-cycle Assessment (Assessment stage – New requirement): minimum limited assurance of the progress assessment, including conformance with market instrument integrity requirements.  

Companies that fall short face a steeper required trajectory in their next cycle, with minimum progress criteria for revalidation set out in the forthcoming SBTi Assurance Manual. 

Separately, the voluntary Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) programme which recognises companies that cover between 1% and 100% of ongoing emissions through high-integrity carbon credits and other climate contributions, also requires independent third-party assurance of verified mitigation outcomes and fund disbursement. 

Key changes from version 1.3 

Version 1 remains open for new submissions until end-2027 for companies planning against the existing framework. 

Normec Verifavia is an accredited independent validation and verification body that supports companies with third-party assurance in fulfillment of the requirements of the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0, covering GHG inventory verification, target base year assurance, end-of-cycle progress assessment, and OER programme conformance.

Read more about the new standard here: Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.