SBTi Releases CNZS 2.0: How Carbon Credits Can Now Factor Into Your SBTi Journey

Yesterday, after multiple stakeholder consultations and revisions by technical working groups, at long last, the Science Based Targets Initiative released the final Corporate Net Zero Standard (CNZS) version 2.0. This long-awaited release is a meaningful and positive development for anyone building a credible climate strategy.

Unsurprisingly, under the new standard, deep emission reductions continue to be the most important priority for any SBTi company. However, for the first time, the updated standard gives high-quality carbon credits (both reductions and removals) a formal role, recognizing them as an important complement to, but still never a substitute for, direct decarbonization efforts. Through the new Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) framework, there is more significant recognition than in the outgoing "Beyond Value Chain Mitigation" (BVCM) program in CNZS 1.0, and hopefully a greater incentive to participate.

Additional key details

• While this OER program is voluntary through 2035, companies choosing not to participate must explicitly explain to SBTi why they will not. Whether the company intends to participate in OER is disclosed along with other SBTi Targets. Potentially, this could help encourage at least a minimal level of voluntary action.

• There are three distinct levels of OER recognition. While the "Leadership" level sets a very high bar (requiring coverage of 100% of emissions and a budget of $80/ton CO2e), the "Engaged" and "Advanced" recognition levels enable recognition of additional climate action, while being a bit more attainable, with Engaged requiring at least 1% of emissions, and Advanced requiring at least 10% emissions and a $20/ton budget.

• While reporting on one's OER progress will take place every five years (along with other end-of-cycle reporting), SBTi encourages "progressive disbursement" of funds, or in other words, for companies not to wait until the end of the five year disbursement period to purchase credits or disburse funds.

• After 2035, OER becomes mandatory. More specifically, at least 1% of ONGOING emissions must be covered by removals, and of those removals, at least 10% need to be long-lived removals.

• By the net zero target year, the proportion of long-lived removals will need to reach 100% of long-lived GHGs emitted, but notably, shorter-lived GHGs (e.g. methane) may be matched with short-lived removals.

• Finally, while technically distinct from the OER program, the updated standard also recommends companies behind on their targets voluntarily purchase removals, though notably such removals are not counted towards target progress.

What's still being worked out

While SBTi clearly encourages voluntary carbon credits as a complement to your net zero target and you can begin to take action today, SBTi will be working over the next year to provide greater clarity and specificity on a number of details. Most notable for OER:

• The updated standard explicitly commits to interoperability, recognizing relevant third-party frameworks, and supporting greater alignment across the wider decarbonization ecosystem. SBTi will be developing additional guidance and kicking off a process to recognize instruments under the OER program, where mature market infrastructure exists (e.g. ICVCM) in Q4 2026, before the process expands to energy and commodity certificates.

• SBTi plans to issue a Call for Evidence to evaluate whether shorter-lived carbon removals can deliver climate-equivalent permanence to long-lived removals through contractual, financial, or stewardship mechanisms.

• Claims: Unfortunately, guidance on claims is left out of the updated CNZS entirely. However, in Q1 2027, SBTi plans to publish a Claims Policy that provides guidance on claims throughout the target cycle.

Why this matters

While some questions remain, we see today's release as a strong signal of where corporate climate strategy is heading: high-integrity credits becoming a structured, expected part of the plan rather than an afterthought. The companies that start thinking through their approach now will be the best positioned as expectations rise.

And while this post focused on carbon credits and the OER program, the updated standard also creates some interesting opportunities for other market-based instruments, such as environmental attribute certificates (EACs) from book-and-claim systems. We will share more on that in our next post!

Working out where high-integrity credits fit in your net zero strategy? Anew can help you think through what CNZS 2.0 means for your roadmap — and how to act on it now.

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