Setting a net-zero target used to feel like the hard part. Then came the reality: supply chains you can’t fully control, scope 3 emissions spread across hundreds of suppliers, and technologies that aren’t quite ready at the scale you need. 

Sound familiar? The SBTi heard the same thing from thousands of businesses. So they rebuilt the Standard around it. 

The Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0 landed in June, the biggest update since the framework launched. It’s not a tweak. It’s a genuinely different way of thinking about what good looks like. And for businesses serious about turning sustainability commitments into real results, it’s worth knowing. 

The headline? It’s built for delivery, not just ambition. 

For ten years, the focus was on getting companies to commit. This version is about helping them deliver. 

The new Standard is designed to sit inside your business, connected to how your board makes decisions, how your finance team allocates capital, how procurement chooses suppliers. Not a separate sustainability track that runs alongside the real work. Part of it. 

The other big shift: the new Standard is honest about what businesses can and can’t control. It’s built on a best-efforts basis. Set credible targets, build a real plan, use every lever available to you, and be open about where you’ve hit genuine barriers. That’s it. Companies doing that can keep progressing within the SBTi framework, even when delivery is harder than expected. 

That’s not lowering the bar. That’s making the bar workable. 

What’s actually changed? 

You need a transition plan 

Every company setting SBTi targets now needs a transition plan, a clear document showing how you intend to deliver, what you’re depending on, and your path to net-zero. For larger companies, this gets disclosed when your targets are validated. Think of it as the bridge between your commitment and your action. If you don’t have one yet, now is the time to build it. 

Targets run in five-year cycles 

Rather than one distant endpoint, the new Standard works in five-year chunks. You set targets, deliver against them, then set the next round. If you’ve had a harder stretch than expected, the next cycle asks more of you, but you keep your place in the framework. It’s designed for the reality that decarbonisation isn’t a straight line. 

Two types of company, two sets of requirements 

The Standard splits companies into two groups based on size and location. If you’re a large or mid-sized UK business, you’ll be in the fuller requirements bracket, which means setting targets across your whole value chain, publishing a transition plan, and having your baseline data independently checked. Smaller businesses have a lighter starting point, though the SBTi encourages everyone to push beyond the minimum where they can. 

Scope 3 matters more than ever, but it’s more flexible too 

Scope 1 and 2 targets are required for all companies. Scope 3 is required for Category A, but the new framework is more flexible about where you start. You can make justified exclusions for emissions categories where you genuinely have limited influence. What you can’t do is ignore the big stuff. But the expectation is clear: full value chain accountability. 

A clear hierarchy for delivering reductions 

One of the most useful additions in V2.0 is a defined implementation hierarchy, a sequence that tells you what counts and in what order: 

1. Direct action first. Reduce emissions at source, in your own operations and supply chain. Always the priority. 

2. Shared systems second. Where emissions flow through shared infrastructure – power grids, gas networks, logistics – you can act within those systems. Market instruments like renewable energy certificates or book-and-claim commodity certificates are now clearly recognised here, within defined integrity criteria. 

3. Sector-level action third. Where options above are genuinely constrained, broader sector-level actions can count. 

This gives businesses something they’ve been asking for: a clear, defensible sequence for making decisions. 

Carbon credits, a complement, not a shortcut 

V2.0 includes voluntary recognition for companies taking responsibility for their ongoing residual emissions through high-integrity carbon finance. This is a complement to reducing your own emissions. Not a substitute. And from 2035, some form of ongoing emissions responsibility is expected to become mandatory. Better to get ahead of it. 

Already have SBTi targets? Here’s what to do. 

Version 1 stays open for new target submissions until the end of 2027, so there’s no immediate need to resubmit. 

If your current targets run to 2030, you’ll start setting your next cycle (2030–2035) under V2.0 from 2028. In the meantime, many V2.0 elements, including the new approaches to implementation and progress assessment, are being made available now. 

Use this moment to review your transition plan, check where you stand against current targets, and start thinking about the next cycle. The businesses that do this early will have a significant advantage over those that wait. 

Not yet started? This is your moment. 

The new Standard is more sophisticated than V1. But it’s also more honest and, in the right hands, more useful. 

The best-efforts approach means you don’t have to have everything figured out before you begin. You need a credible plan, a genuine commitment to using the levers available to you, and transparency about where the hard bits are. That’s achievable. 

What’s changed is the cost of staying on the sidelines. Sustainability credentials increasingly determine who wins contracts, who attracts investment, and who keeps customers. The SBTi validation mark is recognised by financial institutions, procurement teams, and regulators alike. It’s not just a badge. It’s a business asset. 

The bottom line 

Version 2.0 is the SBTi’s response to a decade of listening to businesses trying to make net-zero work in the real world. It’s more demanding on governance and transparency. It’s more practical about delivery. And it’s built for the businesses willing to do the work. 

Purpose made practical. That’s what this Standard is designed to be. 

If you want to understand what it means for your business, specifically where you stand, what’s required, and what to do next, we’re here to help. Talk to us about your net-zero journey.