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    SBTiScience Based Targets initiative

    Definition

    Science Based Targets initiative — an organisation developing standards and services for companies to set science-based emissions-reduction targets.

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

    Scope: Distinguish a commitment, a submitted target and a validated target; check the applicable standard and validation status.

    Sources checked: . Examples are editorial illustrations.

    What the SBTi says about targets, versions and validation

    The Science Based Targets initiative publishes target-setting criteria, and its wholly owned subsidiary SBTi Services checks and validates targets for companies, financial institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises. The SBTi's how-to page names two main types of target: near-term targets, which address reductions over the next five to ten years, and net-zero targets, set under the Corporate Net-Zero Standard for reaching net zero by 2050 or earlier. Most companies use a cross-sector pathway, and some sectors, such as cement, steel and maritime, have sector-specific criteria. Financial institutions have a separate framework, and the Version 2.0 page says more than 11,000 companies have set science-based targets through the SBTi.

    The page describes two starting points: a commitment, which gives a 24-month window to submit targets for assessment, or a direct submission. Once targets are submitted, assessment is usually finished within 12 weeks, and a company whose submission is validated has six months to announce its targets publicly. SBTi Services charges a fee that varies with the type and size of the organisation, and it does not offer consultation services. Two things are therefore different: a company that has committed, and a company whose targets have been validated.

    The Corporate Net-Zero Standard now has two versions. The SBTi says Version 1.3.1 is the framework for validation throughout 2026, that either version can be used for submissions from the first quarter of 2027, and that all new submissions must align with Version 2.0 from 1 February 2028. It expects existing near-term targets to remain valid until the end of their timeframe. Version 2.0 draws on GHG Protocol standards that are under revision, and the SBTi says it intends to provide provisional guidance while that revision continues. A validated target is a status given by SBTi Services under its criteria. It is not a legal requirement in itself, and a regulator or customer that asks for one says so separately. This page is general information, not advice on target setting.

    Sources opened :

    What an SBTi target record holds in software

    • The status and its dates: commitment, the end of the 24-month window, submission, validation and public announcement.
    • The version of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard and the criteria applied to each target.
    • Each target statement: scopes covered, gases, base year, target year and the size of the reduction.
    • The inventory data behind the target, with the recalculation triggers that apply.
    • The documents and data points submitted for validation and the correspondence that followed.
    • Annual progress, and any recalculation and re-validation the target requires.

    SBTi, the GHG Protocol and a validated target

    The GHG Protocol sets accounting and reporting standards for emissions, while the SBTi sets criteria for targets. A company can have an inventory prepared under the first and no target at all. Within the SBTi, a commitment, a submitted target and a validated target are three different statuses, and wording such as science-based or SBTi-aligned should be checked against the actual status and the date.

    A hypothetical example: timing a submission around the version change

    This case is invented to illustrate the record and describes no real company. A logistics company records a commitment in March 2026, so its 24-month window ends in March 2028. The sustainability lead notes that new submissions must align with Version 2.0 from 1 February 2028, and decides to prepare its target under Version 1.3.1 for submission in 2026 so that its validation does not depend on the new version.

    The record holds the target statements, the base-year inventory and the dates. After submission the team logs the expected assessment time of about 12 weeks and the six-month window to announce a validated target. When validation arrives, the communications team may use only the wording and date the record supports, and the record notes that the target will need recalculation if the boundary changes, for example after an acquisition of a depot network, and that re-validation would follow.

    Common misunderstandings about the SBTi

    • A commitment is not a validated target. It starts a 24-month window to submit targets for assessment.
    • The SBTi is not a standard for carbon accounting. The SBTi describes the GHG Protocol as the standard for emissions accounting and itself as the standard for target setting.
    • Validation applies to targets, not to a company's whole climate performance, and it does not itself reduce emissions.
    • A validated target is not frozen. The SBTi page speaks of mandatory target recalculation followed by re-validation, so a change of boundary can reopen it.
    • Version dates matter. What applies to a submission depends on when it is made, and existing near-term targets are expected to stay valid for their timeframe.
    • Validation is carried out by SBTi Services, which charges a fee and, the SBTi says, does not offer consultation services.

    How the SBTi relates to other glossary terms

    Target setting sits on top of the inventory and the long-term net-zero idea.

    • Net zero: the long-term target concept the Corporate Net-Zero Standard defines for companies.
    • GHG Scope 1, 2 and 3: the accounting structure that supplies the inventory behind a target.
    • Scope 2 emissions: purchased energy, where Version 2.0 includes its own target-setting options alongside the GHG Protocol's methods.
    • Scope 3 emissions: the value-chain category that boundary rules in a target standard have to address.

    Records and evidence that usually exist for an SBTi target

    • The base-year inventory and the recalculation policy.
    • The commitment letter or submission confirmation with dates.
    • The target statements and the management approval behind them.
    • The submission form, data points and supporting files.
    • Validation correspondence, the outcome and the announcement.
    • Annual progress reports and any recalculation notes.
    • The fee quotation and the terms of the validation service.
    • Records of who approved each public statement about the target.

    What a software tool needs to capture for SBTi targets

    • A status field with dates for commitment, submission, validation and announcement.
    • A version field for the standard and criteria, so a record shows which applied.
    • Target statements linked to the inventory lines and scopes they cover.
    • Recalculation triggers and a log that keeps old and new values.
    • Document storage for the submission and the correspondence.
    • Progress views that show the pathway against the target year.
    • Wording controls that tie public statements to the current status.

    Catalog profiles documenting carbon inventory or GHG calculation

    Each profile documents a carbon calculation capability in its record. The list does not show that any product submits or validates targets, which only SBTi Services does.

    Same rule for every product: tagged “Carbon Accounting”, “Carbon Management”, “Scope 3 Emissions”, “Scope 3” or “Emissions Reporting”, with a sourced carbon inventory or GHG calculation 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.

    Tekmon pays for a sponsored placement (above); its place in this list follows the same rule as every entry. How lists are ordered

    All 18 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.

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    Frequently asked questions

    What is the difference between a commitment and a validated target?

    A commitment gives a 24-month window to submit targets for assessment. A validated target has been assessed by SBTi Services against the criteria. Check which status a company holds and the date.

    How long does validation take and what does it cost?

    The SBTi says assessment is usually finished within 12 weeks of submission, and that SBTi Services charges a fee that varies with the type and size of the organisation and the type of target. Its service offering sets the figures.

    Does a validated target mean emissions have fallen?

    No. Validation concerns the target. Progress shows in later inventories, and the SBTi expects existing near-term targets to stay valid to the end of their timeframe, with re-validation after mandatory recalculation.

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