The landscape of corporate climate action underwent a tectonic shift this summer as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) released its highly anticipated update to the Corporate Net-Zero Standard. For years, the global discourse on corporate sustainability was dominated by a singular focus: direct decarbonization. While the priority of slashing absolute emissions remains the bedrock of climate science, the new standard introduces a more nuanced, multi-dimensional framework for how companies must account for their "residual" emissions on the path to 2050.
Central to this evolution is a renewed and formalized role for nature-based solutions (NBS). As corporations grapple with the "hard-to-abate" sectors of their supply chains, the SBTi’s updated guidance provides a bridge between immediate atmospheric needs and long-term technological removals. This report explores the core tenets of the updated standard, the chronological evolution of these policies, and the profound implications for the global carbon market.
Main Facts: The Two-Track Strategy and Ongoing Emissions Responsibility
The updated Corporate Net-Zero Standard represents a departure from the "reduction-only" optics of the past, moving toward a "reductions-plus" model. The hallmark of this update is the introduction of Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER).
Under the previous framework, companies were primarily judged on their ability to meet near-term and long-term reduction targets. The OER framework builds upon the concept of "Beyond Value Chain Mitigation" (BVCM), suggesting that it is no longer enough for a company to simply promise to be clean by 2040 or 2050. Instead, companies must take financial and operational responsibility for the carbon they continue to emit during their transition.
The Three Tiers of Ambition
The SBTi has established a voluntary uptake framework that allows companies to categorize their commitment to OER across three distinct levels:
- Engaged: Taking responsibility for 1 percent of ongoing emissions.
- Advanced: Taking responsibility for 10 percent of ongoing emissions.
- Leadership: Taking responsibility for 100 percent of ongoing emissions.
By formalizing these tiers, the SBTi provides a roadmap for "high-integrity" action. Crucially, the standard emphasizes that these investments must be made alongside—never instead of—aggressive internal decarbonization. The goal is to funnel corporate capital into verified mitigation outcomes, such as forest restoration, peatland protection, and emerging carbon-removal technologies.
Chronology: From the 2021 Landmark to the 2024 Refinement
The journey to the current standard has been marked by both scientific rigor and intense public debate within the climate community.
- October 2021: The SBTi launches the first-ever Corporate Net-Zero Standard. It establishes the requirement that companies must reduce emissions by 90–95% across all scopes before claiming "net-zero" status, using removals only for the final 5–10% of residual emissions.
- 2022–2023: The "Beyond Value Chain Mitigation" (BVCM) concept gains traction. Climate scientists argue that the 1.5°C goal is unattainable if companies only focus on their own footprints while global biodiversity collapses.
- April 2024: A period of significant internal and external friction occurs within the SBTi. A statement from the Board of Trustees regarding the potential expanded use of environmental attribute certificates (including carbon credits) for Scope 3 emissions sparks a backlash from staff and environmental NGOs, who fear a dilution of standards.
- Summer 2024: The SBTi releases the updated Corporate Net-Zero Standard. It clarifies the role of nature-based solutions and formalizes the OER. It maintains the 90% reduction requirement but provides a much clearer mechanism for how companies can—and should—invest in the planet during the interim period.
- 2025–2034: This is designated as the "voluntary ramp-up" period, where the SBTi encourages companies to build the internal infrastructure needed for the 2035 mandate.
- 2035: The year the OER requirements become a mandatory component for companies seeking to maintain validated net-zero targets under the new standard.
Supporting Data: The Scale of the Challenge
The urgency behind the SBTi’s update is driven by a massive financing gap. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), finance flows to nature-based solutions must triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2050 to meet Rio Convention targets.
The Nature Capacity Gap
Currently, nature-based solutions represent over 80% of the global carbon removal capacity available for immediate deployment. While engineered solutions like Direct Air Capture (DAC) are essential for long-term "millennial" storage, they currently operate at a fraction of the scale required.
The SBTi’s standard addresses this by categorizing removals based on durability:
- Short-lived Storage: Carbon stored for decades to centuries (primarily biological sinks like forests and soil).
- Long-lived Storage: Carbon stored for centuries to millennia (primarily geological storage or mineralized carbon).
The data suggests a phased approach: From 2035, companies must cover at least 1% of their ongoing emissions with eligible removals. For the portion of emissions attributed to long-lived greenhouse gases (like CO2), at least 10% must be matched with long-lived removals by 2035. This requirement scales up to 100% by the company’s net-zero target year.
The Economic Incentive
By introducing the "Leadership" tier (100% OER), the SBTi is effectively encouraging an internal carbon price. If a company must pay to mitigate 100% of its current pollution through high-quality credits, the economic incentive to decarbonize internally becomes significantly more acute.
Official Responses: Industry and NGO Perspectives
The reaction to the updated standard has been a mix of cautious optimism and a call for even greater rigor.
Nature4Climate Coalition: Lucy Almond, Chair of Nature4Climate, notes that the standard finally gives nature its "explicit place." She argues that the portfolio approach—combining nature with engineered removals—is the only sensible path forward while technology catches up to the scale of the climate crisis.
VCMI and ICVCM: The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) and the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) have signaled that the SBTi’s OER framework aligns with their "Core Carbon Principles." These organizations emphasize that the quality of the credit is as important as the quantity.
Environmental Advocacy Groups: Organizations like Greenpeace and the World Resources Institute (WRI) continue to monitor the implementation closely. Their primary concern remains "greenwashing"—the risk that companies will use OER investments to distract from a failure to reduce their Scope 3 (supply chain) emissions. The SBTi has responded by reiterating that OER is an additional requirement, not a substitute for Scope 1, 2, and 3 reductions.
Implications: Footnote 75 and the Future of Durability
Perhaps the most significant, yet overlooked, aspect of the new standard is found in Footnote 75. This small addition could fundamentally change how we value nature-based solutions in the second half of the century.
The Permanence Debate
Historically, nature-based solutions have been criticized for "reversal risk"—the possibility that a forest might burn down or be logged, releasing stored carbon. Because of this, many frameworks have favored engineered removals as the only "permanent" solution.
However, Footnote 75 reveals that the SBTi intends to run a "call for evidence" to determine if shorter-lived removals (like nature) can deliver "climate-equivalent permanence" through new contractual or stewardship mechanisms. This could include:
- Buffer Pools: Large reserves of credits held back to cover any accidental reversals.
- Legal Covenants: Permanent land protections that outlast individual corporate contracts.
- Indigenous Stewardship: Recognizing that land managed by Indigenous Peoples often has higher carbon stability and biodiversity outcomes.
Strategic Planning for Corporations
The implication for corporate sustainability teams is clear: Do not wait until 2035.
The governance required to manage OER—including procurement relationships with project developers, internal carbon accounting systems, and legal frameworks for long-term credit purchasing—cannot be built overnight. Companies that begin investing in nature-based portfolios today will be the ones that have the "track record of integrity" required when the SBTi’s mandatory requirements take effect.
Furthermore, the standard signals a shift in how "value" is calculated. Well-designed nature projects provide "co-benefits" that engineered solutions do not: biodiversity protection, water security, and support for local livelihoods. As ESG reporting moves toward the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) standards, these co-benefits will become increasingly valuable assets on a corporate balance sheet.
Conclusion
The SBTi’s updated Corporate Net-Zero Standard marks the end of the "wait-and-see" era for corporate climate investment. By formalizing Ongoing Emissions Responsibility and opening the door for nature-based solutions to prove their long-term durability, the standard provides a pragmatic yet ambitious framework. For the global corporate sector, the message is unambiguous: decarbonize your operations with everything you have, but take responsibility for the damage you are doing today by investing in the natural systems that sustain the planet.
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