SBTi Halves Validation Wait Times with New Submission and Assessment Tools

The Science Based Targets initiative released three new and updated target validation resources in December 2023, including a consolidated validation procedure, expanded criteria assessment indicators and a revised corporate target submission form. Despite surpassing 4,000 validated businesses at COP28 in 2023, the SBTi reported that target validation wait times roughly halved during the year compared with 2022.

The Procedure for Validation of SBTi Targets consolidates two legacy documents into a single reference, providing companies with accessible guidance on each step of the target submission and assessment process. It became available for reference immediately and is fully effective from 20 June 2024. The SBTi Criteria Assessment Indicators expand the former criteria assessment table to provide a comprehensive checklist of near-term, net-zero, FLAG and sector-specific criteria, clearly defining the minimum documentation required for each criterion to enable analysts to confirm alignment without repeated information requests.

The updated Corporate Target Submission Form requires substantially more information upfront, including activity-level emission data by scope and category, sources of data, types of data and assumptions used, and qualitative information on alignment of the company's GHG inventory with the GHG Protocol. The previous form asked for limited information, leading analysts to issue multiple query rounds during validation. The SBTi expects the updated form to reduce both query frequency and total validation time, enabling the organisation to manage growing demand without compromising the rigour of its assessments.

The new Corporate Target Submission Form became mandatory for all target submissions from 1 February 2024. Companies that had previously found the validation process slow or opaque are expected to benefit from the increased transparency of the Criteria Assessment Indicators, which reveal exactly what the SBTi's validation team checks and what evidence is needed. For Indian companies beginning the science-based target setting process, these resources lower the administrative barrier to entry and reduce the risk of submissions being delayed by avoidable information gaps.

Key figure — Target validation wait times roughly halved in 2023 compared with 2022