SBTi Opens Six-Week Public Consultation on Beyond Value Chain Mitigation Guidance

The Science Based Targets initiative launched a six-week public consultation on its Beyond Value Chain Mitigation guidance, running from 19 June to 30 July 2023. The consultation invited stakeholders to provide feedback on BVCM approaches that companies can pursue in addition to — but not as a substitute for — their science-based emission reduction targets.

BVCM is defined in the SBTi's Corporate Net-Zero Standard as action to mitigate emissions outside a company's value chain, including purchasing high-quality jurisdictional REDD+ credits or investing in direct air capture. The Corporate Net-Zero Standard identifies BVCM as one of four pillars companies must address, alongside near-term targets, long-term targets and neutralisation of residual emissions. The public consultation sought input across an open, transparent, multi-stakeholder process before the SBTi finalised its BVCM guidance.

The BVCM consultation is significant in the context of growing corporate demand for clarity on the boundaries between voluntary carbon market investment and credible science-based target-setting. As companies seek to demonstrate climate leadership beyond their immediate Scope 1, 2 and 3 reductions, BVCM offers a recognised mechanism for additional climate finance contribution. For Indian corporates engaged in voluntary carbon market transactions or forest conservation investment, the forthcoming guidance will provide internationally recognised parameters for how such activities are reported and recognised.

Following the consultation, the SBTi committed to reviewing insights and developing a final BVCM guidance document. The finalised guidance was expected to inform corporate decision-making on climate finance allocation and position companies within the broader global net-zero transformation. The initiative published two BVCM reports — Above and Beyond and Raising the Bar — in February 2024 building on this consultation, providing detailed implementation guidance and a theory of change for scaling corporate climate finance into BVCM.

Key figure — Six-week consultation period: 19 June to 30 July 2023