SBTi Establishes Five Expert Working Groups for Corporate Net-Zero Standard Revision

The Science Based Targets initiative announced in February 2025 that it will establish Expert Working Groups across five key topics to gather additional stakeholder feedback on the revision of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard. A first public consultation was planned to begin no earlier than March 2025, open to all stakeholders for a minimum of 60 days.

SBTi's five Expert Working Groups will focus on scope 2 emissions from purchased electricity, scope 3 target-setting approaches, carbon dioxide removal and neutralization, addressing ongoing emissions through Beyond Value Chain Mitigation, and data quality and claims substantiation. The EWGs bring together subject-matter experts from business, civil society, and academia. Applications closed at 11:59 PM PT on 28 February 2025. Building on feedback from technical advisory groups, working sessions with business stakeholders, and the earlier Scope 3 Discussion Paper, the EWGs provide additional depth to the revision process.

The revision of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard will address several critical areas: a new categorisation system tailored by company size and geography, updated guidance on reporting progress against targets, new approaches to scope 3 value chain emissions including a wider range of metrics and tools, clarification of the neutralisation approach for residual emissions, and improved interoperability with the forthcoming Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard. These changes are intended to make the standard more accessible and effective for companies in emerging markets, including India, while maintaining scientific rigour.

The revised process includes two public consultations, pilot testing, and expert working group input, with feedback published throughout. Companies without near-term or net-zero targets were encouraged to continue setting them using V1.2 in the interim. SBTi Chief Technical Officer Alberto Carrillo Pineda noted that more than 1,500 businesses now hold net-zero aligned targets since the standard's first release in 2021, and that the revision will build on that foundation to make science-based target-setting more effective at scale.

Key figure — More than 1,500 businesses with net-zero aligned targets under Corporate Net-Zero Standard V1