SBTi Version 2.0 Tightens Rules for Corporate Scope 2 Electricity Targets

The Science Based Targets initiative has released Version 2.0 of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard, introducing new rules for how companies set and implement scope 2 emissions targets. The updated framework anchors all scope 2 reduction targets to physical, location-based electricity inventories and raises integrity requirements for low-carbon electricity procurement.

Version 2.0 gives companies two pathways for scope 2 targets: emissions reduction targets that follow a science-based trajectory, and low-carbon electricity alignment targets that increase the share of clean power over time. A key change is that all emissions reduction targets must now be anchored to the physical, location-based inventory rather than market-based accounting. Companies with rapidly growing electricity demand — such as data centre operators — are required to set emissions reduction targets specifically to prevent rising clean energy shares from masking absolute emissions growth.

The updated standard introduces a "near, new and now" framework for market instruments. Low-carbon electricity procurement must be geographically deliverable to the company's grid, sourced from assets no more than 15 years old to encourage new capacity investment, and matched on an annual basis at minimum. These requirements raise the bar for renewable energy certificates and power purchase agreements, ensuring procurement choices connect more directly to actual grid decarbonisation rather than simply reallocating existing clean supply.

On hourly matching — where electricity procurement is matched to consumption within the same hour — Version 2.0 stops short of a mandate. Large electricity users in Category A are required to measure and publicly report their hourly matching performance, building transparency and data availability for future policy decisions. The SBTi plans to launch a Call for Evidence on hourly matching to inform subsequent standard revisions. Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on new methods and pathways by July 31, 2026, with a finalised resource package expected in Q4 2026.

Key figure — 15-year age limit on generation assets for qualifying market instruments