Skip to main content
    QHSEtech
    Updated
    All glossary terms
    Content date: · No individual check logged· AI use

    Net Zero

    Definition

    A target state in which residual emissions are balanced by removals within a defined boundary and period after deep emissions reductions.

    Editorial definition: The QHSE Standard, updated 3 October 2026 · https://qhsetech.com/glossary/net-zero

    Scope: Specify the gases, boundary, target standard and treatment of residual emissions; the phrase alone does not establish validation.

    Sources checked: . Examples are editorial illustrations.

    How the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard uses the term

    This entry uses the SBTi's Corporate Net-Zero Standard as its reference, because the SBTi says more than 2,500 companies have used it to set net-zero targets. Its page describes it as a framework for setting science-based targets aligned with reaching net zero by 2050 at the latest. Version 1.3.1 has four elements: near-term targets, long-term targets that cut all possible emissions, usually more than 90 per cent before 2050, neutralisation of residual emissions with permanent carbon removal and storage, and beyond value chain mitigation, which businesses should invest in alongside their targets. The page says a company has reached net zero only when it has achieved its long-term target and neutralised any residual emissions.

    Version 2.0 of the Standard has been published. The SBTi says that throughout 2026 Version 1.3.1 remains the framework for validation, that from the first quarter of 2027 targets can be submitted under either version, and that from 1 February 2028 all new submissions must align with Version 2.0. Its page says Version 2.0 asks for two or more near-term targets with an optional overarching net-zero target, expects companies to use all available levers and be open about assumptions and dependencies, adds an implementation hierarchy and annual reporting, and treats high-integrity carbon credits as a complement to reductions and not a substitute, through a voluntary recognition programme.

    A bare statement of net zero is only informative when it gives the gases, the scopes, the base year, the target year, the split between reductions and removals, and whether an independent body has validated it. This page is general information, not advice on how to make a public claim.

    Sources opened :

    What a net-zero target record holds in software

    • The target statement: gases, scopes covered, base year, target year and the boundary.
    • The status of the target: a commitment, a submitted target or a validated target, with the standard version and the dates.
    • Interim targets and the reduction pathway by scope.
    • An estimate of residual emissions and the plan for removals: type, permanence, source and verification.
    • Annual progress against each target, with recalculations and their reasons.
    • Any action outside the value chain, recorded separately from the inventory.

    Net zero, zero emissions and carbon neutral

    Net zero in the SBTi sense follows deep cuts across the value chain and balances only a small residual with permanent removals. It does not mean zero emissions and it is not reached by buying credits against current emissions. Other terms such as carbon neutral are used differently by different bodies and carry no fixed meaning unless the issuer states the definition and the method.

    A hypothetical example: from commitment to a public statement

    This case is invented to illustrate the record and describes no real company. A packaging manufacturer has a base-year inventory of 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Its record states that a 90 per cent cut by the target year would leave 5,000 tonnes, which it plans to balance with permanent removals, and it lists the reduction measures for each scope with owners and dates. The record also holds a near-term target for the same scopes and a note that the long-term target counts only what the inventory measures.

    The marketing team asks to publish that the company is net zero. The record shows only a commitment, with no submitted or validated target and no removals contracted, so the legal team limits the wording to what the record supports, such as the stated target and its status. The statement links to the target page, the version of the standard and the date. Each year the team updates progress and notes any recalculation, so the public claim and the record stay aligned.

    Common misunderstandings about net zero

    • Net zero is not zero. The SBTi describes cutting usually more than 90 per cent before 2050 and neutralising the small remainder.
    • Offsetting today's emissions with credits is not what Version 1.3.1 counts as reaching net zero, and Version 2.0 treats credits as a complement to reductions.
    • Net zero does not replace near-term targets. Version 1.3.1 asks for near-term targets alongside the long-term target, because rapid cuts in the short run are the priority.
    • A commitment is not a validated target. The SBTi page separates committing, submitting and validation.
    • A net-zero year chosen by a company is its own statement. The page refers to net zero by 2050 at the latest for targets set under the Standard.
    • The word covers different boundaries. State the gases and scopes, and say which version of the standard applies.

    How net zero relates to other glossary terms

    A net-zero claim is only as clear as the inventory and the target process behind it.

    • SBTi: the initiative whose standard and validation service this entry draws on.
    • GHG Scope 1, 2 and 3: the inventory structure against which targets are set and progress is measured.
    • Scope 3 emissions: the value-chain emissions that deep cuts normally have to reach.
    • Scope 1 emissions: direct emissions, the part of the inventory a company controls most closely.

    Records and evidence that usually exist for a net-zero target

    • The base-year inventory and its recalculation policy.
    • The target statement and the decision of the board or management that approved it.
    • Correspondence with the validation body and the version of the standard used.
    • The reduction plan with measures, owners, costs and dates.
    • Contracts and verification for any removals.
    • Annual progress reports with reviewer sign-off.
    • Records of any beyond value chain action, kept apart from the inventory.
    • Approval records for each public statement about the target and its status.

    What a software tool needs to capture for net zero

    • A target model with gases, scopes, base year, target year and status for each target.
    • A versioned reference to the standard and criteria applied, with dates.
    • A pathway view that separates reductions from removals and shows residual emissions.
    • Links from each reduction measure to the inventory lines it affects.
    • Recalculation handling that keeps old and new values with the reason.
    • A separate area for actions outside the value chain so they are not mixed into totals.
    • A way to tie any public statement to the target record and its date.
    • A check that near-term and long-term targets are both present and consistent.

    Catalog profiles documenting sustainability goals and targets

    Each profile documents a goal or target tracking capability in its record. The list does not show that any product follows a validated method or validates a target.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Carbon Accounting”, “Carbon Management”, “ESG Reporting”, “ESG Frameworks Reporting”, “Sustainability Reporting”, “ESG & Sustainability”, “Sustainability & ESG”, “Sustainability Data”, “Scope 3 Emissions”, “Scope 3” or “Emissions Reporting”, with a sourced target-setting or goal-tracking capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

    Ordered by how closely our sources document this process, not by quality. Sponsored placements are labelled. How lists are ordered

    All 12 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.

    Related software

    Frequently asked questions

    Is net zero the same as carbon neutral?

    Not necessarily. The SBTi's Version 1.3.1 describes cutting usually more than 90 per cent of emissions before 2050 and neutralising the residual with permanent removals. Carbon neutral is used differently by different bodies, so ask for the definition and the boundary.

    Can credits be used to claim net zero?

    Under Version 1.3.1 a company reaches net zero only after achieving its long-term target and neutralising residual emissions with permanent carbon removal and storage. Version 2.0 treats high-integrity carbon credits as a complement to reductions and not a substitute.

    Which version of the standard applies?

    The SBTi says Version 1.3.1 is used for validation throughout 2026, either version can be used from the first quarter of 2027, and from 1 February 2028 all new submissions must align with Version 2.0.

    More esg terms

    Related guides