SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 published: transition timeline set

What happened

On 11 June 2026, SBTi published version 2.0 of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard. The standard was finalised after two public consultations starting in March 2025, pilot testing, expert working groups, Technical Council approval and adoption by the Board of Trustees (our news on the first draft).

Main rules, according to the standard's executive summary:

• Categories: Category A covers large companies in all countries and medium-sized companies in higher-income countries; Category B covers small companies in all countries and medium-sized companies in lower-income countries.
• Near-term targets: Five-year targets. Scope 1 and 2 targets are mandatory for all companies; the Scope 2 target can be based on emission reductions and/or increasing the share of low-carbon electricity.
• Scope 3: Mandatory only for Category A. Categories that each account for less than 5 percent of total Scope 3 can be excluded; three different target approaches are available.
• Net-zero year: 2050 at the latest for all scopes.
• Assurance and transition plan: At least limited assurance of base year data is mandatory for Category A. All companies prepare a transition plan; Category A discloses it at validation.
• Best efforts: Targets are tracked on a "best efforts" basis, with transparent disclosure of dependencies and assumptions.
• Responsibility for ongoing emissions: For now a voluntary recognition mechanism; SBTi intends to make it mandatory from 2035.

Transition timeline: Throughout 2026, validation follows version 1.3.1. V2.0 validation opens in the first quarter of 2027, and from then until 31 January 2028 companies can choose either version. From 1 February 2028, V2.0 is mandatory for all new target submissions. Validated near-term targets remain valid until the end of their term.

Who is affected

Turkish companies with SBTi targets, or preparing to set targets in response to customer requests. Large companies in Türkiye will fall into Category A; the category of medium-sized companies depends on SBTi's country income classification. Companies renewing targets in 2026 or 2027 can adopt some V2.0 innovations while keeping the flexibilities of version 1.3.1.

What companies should do

• If you plan to submit a target in 2026, apply early under version 1.3.1.
• Determine your category and calculate which Scope 3 categories fall within the target boundary under the 5 percent threshold.
• Add limited assurance of your base year inventory and preparation of a transition plan to your timeline.

Alalëa supports target setting, transition planning and validation preparation under V2.0: SBTi target setting.