The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has published four technical outputs as an early step in the process for the revision of the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard.

The SBTi announced the timeline and published the Terms of Reference for the review of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard in May 2024, ensuring that the Standard continues to align with the latest scientific thinking and best practice, and addresses challenges related to scope 3target setting.

Scope 3 emissions make up 75% of the average company’s footprint – and are the major challenge when it comes to corporate decarbonization, as well as presenting the greatest opportunity. As a leading voluntary standard-setter, the SBTi is responding to the experiences of the thousands of businesses that have had their targets validated by the SBTi to explore options to develop a more effective approach to addressing scope 3 emissions and enhance the impact of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard.

Among the outputs is a Synthesis report of evidence on the effectiveness of Environmental Attribute Certificates in corporate climate targets – Part 1: Carbon credits: A report presenting the SBTi’s synthesis of the evidence submitted through the call for evidence on the effectiveness of carbon credits in corporate climate targets.

This found that “the vast majority of evidence submissions (84%) argue that treating carbon credits as fungible with other sources, sinks, or reductions of emissions is inadvisable, illogical, or damaging to global mitigation goals.”