With almost every nation endorsing the Paris Agreement, the goal is to limit global warming to below 2°C by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, a significant amount of carbon dioxide has already been accumulated in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. Merely halting emissions would not be enough to reverse climate change.
Climate scientists suggest to remove 10 gigatons of CO2 annually by 2050 and 20 gigatons thereafter to meet the climate target.
In response, professionals and researchers worldwide are actively exploring carbon removal technologies to mitigate the impact of accelerating climate change. Research institutions, in particular, are focusing on curbing their GHG emissions and developing technologies for carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Negative emissions solutions like CCS or carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) are gaining importance. Top universities worldwide are actively contributing to this effort, each with specialized research groups focusing on various aspects of carbon capture and utilization. These ranges from capturing CO2 from smokestacks to developing innovative products that use atmospheric CO2 in beneficial ways.
Other top universities are implementing ways on how to directly curb their own carbon emissions and footprint to reach Net Zero goals. Here are the top six universities in the United States and what they’re doing to help in this fight.
Harvard University and Its Zero Goal
Faculty and students from across the Harvard community are working on ways to address climate change and its effects. The university has implemented various sustainability and climate initiatives. Here are some of them:
- Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability: Established in fall 2022 with a generous $200 million gift from Melanie and Jean Salata, the institute serves as a hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, research, and engagement aimed at addressing the climate crisis.
- Sustainability Management Council (SMC): Senior leaders in operations, facilities, and administration convene regularly to facilitate the sharing of best practices and achieve the University’s sustainability and energy management objectives.
- Council of Student Sustainability Leaders (CSSL): Comprising graduate and undergraduate students involved in sustainability-related groups, the CSSL fosters collaboration, networking, and feedback on Harvard’s sustainability initiatives.
- Climate Solutions Living Lab: This initiative combines pedagogy and applied research to advance climate goals through interdisciplinary student projects focused on solutions for the building and energy sectors.
- Harvard Green Office Program: This program guides staff in creating sustainable workspaces, promoting environmental stewardship across the University.
- Resource Efficiency Program (REPs): Founded in 2002, REPs promotes sustainability within undergraduate housing through peer-driven educational initiatives.
Harvard’s Sustainability Action Plan underscored the university’s unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and its relentless pursuit of sustainability initiatives both on campus and in broader contexts.
Central to Harvard’s agenda is the acceleration of clean energy adoption and the complete transition away from fossil fuels. Through these efforts, Harvard aims to establish a blueprint for a decarbonized world as shown by its decreasing carbon footprint.
Harvard University Carbon Emissions, 2006-2022
Goal Zero: A Fossil Fuel-Free Harvard
Harvard has set a bold objective to achieve fossil fuel-free status by 2050, surpassing the benchmark of merely attaining “carbon neutrality.”
While carbon neutrality typically involves offsetting emissions through initiatives like renewable energy procurement and tree planting, Goal Zero, as embraced by Harvard, aims for the complete elimination of fossil fuel usage. This approach acknowledges the comprehensive spectrum of harms stemming from fossil fuel consumption, going beyond carbon emissions alone.
Recognizing the manifold negative impacts of fossil fuels, which extend to their role as key components in plastics and toxic chemicals, Harvard also endeavors to curb these dependencies. This multifaceted approach aligns with the university’s broader mission to mitigate waste and foster a healthier, more sustainable value chain.
As an interim measure to progress towards Goal Zero, Harvard has established a short-term target to achieve fossil fuel neutrality by 2026. This entails eliminating campus emissions (both Scope 1 and Scope 2) and investing in initiatives that not only neutralize GHG emissions but also mitigate the adverse health effects of fossil fuel usage, such as air pollution.
The university is intensifying efforts to reduce Scope 3 emissions, focusing on emissions generated throughout its value chain. This includes various areas such as construction, food production, air travel, commuting, and procurement of goods and services.
Its value chain (Scope 3) emissions goals and priorities are as follows:
- 25% reduction in food-related emissions by 2030
- 20% lower embodied carbon in new construction
In 2023, the Harvard Kennedy School took a significant step toward mitigating its environmental impact by purchasing its inaugural portfolio of high-quality carbon offsets. These offsets were to compensate for the climate and health-related damages stemming from Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) travel activities throughout the year, as well as to offset the institution’s broader global emissions footprint.
By prioritizing human health, social equity, and slashing carbon footprint, Harvard aims to generate positive impacts through its transition to fossil fuel neutrality.
MIT’s Plan for Action on Climate Change
Since the announcement of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Plan for Action on Climate Change in October 2015, MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) has made significant strides in research, education, outreach, and engagement efforts aimed at combating climate change and advancing clean energy solutions.
MITEI established its Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Center in 2006 as part of its commitment to addressing climate change through innovative energy solutions. The center brings together faculty members focused on research in 3 key areas: capture, utilization, and geologic storage of CO2.
Within the CCUS Center, researchers explore a range of technologies and methods, including molecular simulation, materials design, catalytic processes, fluid mechanics, and advanced imaging techniques. They are developing emerging technologies for gas storage and separation.
Geologic storage research investigates the behavior of CO2 in underground reservoirs, including its interactions with pore fluids, and employs advanced imaging techniques to better understand the opportunities and risks associated with storing carbon dioxide underground.
Through these efforts, MIT is contributing to the development of innovative solutions for carbon capture and storage, essential for mitigating climate change. Here are the other key achievements of the university in various aspects of its efforts in cutting carbon emissions:
Research:
- MITEI’s research portfolio focuses on deep decarbonization across four major energy sectors—power, transportation, industry, and buildings—to address climate change and expand access to clean energy.
- The establishment of Low-Carbon Energy Centers has facilitated collaborative research efforts with industry partners to tackle pressing energy challenges. These centers help in advancing projects related to mobility systems, energy storage, carbon capture, and more.
- Major studies and reports, such as “Insights into Future Mobility” and “The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World,” have provided comprehensive analyses of key technologies and sectors, informing policy and business decisions.
Education and Outreach:
- MITEI has been actively involved in educating students and the public about climate change and clean energy solutions through various initiatives, including workshops, seminars, and educational programs.
- The Mobility Systems Center, established as part of MITEI’s research efforts, has contributed to the understanding of individual travel decisions and the importance of sustainable mobility.
Engagement and Collaboration:
- Collaboration with industry partners, including global engineering and energy companies like IHI, Iberdrola, Eni S.p.A., and ExxonMobil, has led to significant advancements in clean energy technologies and policies.
- Membership agreements and collaborations with companies have resulted in substantial financial support for research projects, professorships, and technology development initiatives.
MIT is also joining the race to zero by aiming to eliminate direct emissions by 2050, with a near term milestone of net zero carbon campus emissions by 2026.
The university takes a multifaceted approach to achieve such climate goal. In general, the school will focus on:
- Decarbonizing its on-campus energy systems,
- Enabling large-scale clean energy generation on- and off-campus, and
- Embracing new decarbonization solutions.
These efforts underscore MIT’s commitment to addressing climate change and accelerating the transition to a sustainable energy future.
Yale University’s Center for Natural CO2 Capture
Founded with a transformative donation from FedEx and as a part of Yale’s Planetary Solutions Project, the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture is dedicated to exploring the science of natural carbon capture. Its mission is to develop solutions that contribute to addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
The Center introduces fresh and innovative research and researchers to the Yale community, forging connections with relevant research laboratories both on and off-campus. Through funding research projects, workshops, and fellowships, the Center supports initiatives at the University and invests in training the next generation of scientists and practitioners. These efforts revolve around three primary Focus Areas:
- Ecosystem & Biological Capture,
- Geological & Ocean Capture, and
- Industrial Carbon Utilization.
Over the past year, the Center has achieved several notable milestones. Among these, two standout initiatives have emerged: the Yale Applied Science Synthesis Program (YASSP) and significant advancements in enhanced rock weathering (ERW).
YASSP connects academic researchers, policymakers, and those managing lands to answer applied questions about how land management decisions affect the services provided by forests, croplands, wetlands, rangelands, and grasslands.
Yale’s Net Zero Goal
Yale University is dedicated to achieving zero actual carbon emissions by 2050, with an interim objective of reaching net zero emissions by 2035. This goal will primarily be accomplished by reducing campus emissions by 65% below 2015 levels and, if needed, utilizing high-quality, verifiable carbon offsets.
The ultimate aim of zero actual carbon emissions will involve minimizing campus emissions entirely and implementing clean energy technology. The university managed to cut emissions by 28% since 2015, as seen below, despite a huge increase in campus size.
The university’s approach to climate action is comprehensive and encompasses all aspects of its operations. Yale is expanding its educational offerings to address the complexity and magnitude of global climate challenges.
Additionally, investments are being made in campus infrastructure and emerging technologies to mitigate the university’s environmental impact. Yale has also adopted fossil fuel investment principles to facilitate a transition towards a decarbonized energy future.
Yale’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions include:
- Responsible energy use through conservation, efficiency upgrades, and innovative approaches to campus operations.
- Ensuring that energy generation on campus is efficient and environmentally friendly.
- Implementing a greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy to steadily progress towards zero emissions targets.
- Purchasing and retiring high-quality, verified carbon offsets when necessary to meet emissions goals.
Stanford University Center For Carbon Storage
Stanford University leads global research on carbon sequestration, tackling critical questions on flow physics, monitoring, geochemistry, and more. They study CO2 storage in depleted oil and gas fields, saline reservoirs, and explore policies and techno-economics.
Stanford also focuses on capturing CO2 with engineered and natural applications, and combines bioenergy production with carbon capture to achieve net-negative emissions. Additionally, they research the impact of carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems on CO2 capture and storage implementation.
The Stanford Center for Carbon Storage is focused on advancing crucial Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies aimed at capturing greenhouse gas emissions from smokestacks and securely storing them. Their research efforts are directed towards developing cost-effective methods for permanent storage on an industrial scale.
Visit this link to get to know more about the university’s CCS research highlights.
The center is actively addressing fundamental questions related to flow physics, monitoring techniques, geochemistry, and simulation of CO2 transport and behavior once stored underground. Their storage research encompasses a variety of geological formations, including fully-depleted oil fields, saline aquifers, and other unconventional reservoirs.
Stanford’s Path to Net Zero
The university also aims to reach net zero emissions by 2050, following this pathway:
After completing the full year of 100% renewable electricity, Stanford University revealed new goals to get rid of construction and food-related emissions by 2030.
The university is currently monitoring Scope 3 emissions across eight categories, including business and student travel, fuel and energy activities, waste, employee commute, construction, purchased goods and services, leases, and food purchases.
There’s still much work to be done to decrease Stanford’s scope 3 emissions. But with the two emission reduction goals revealed last year, they represent significant progress in the university’s understanding of and ability to reduce these emissions.
These goals underscore climate action as a fundamental value for the departments involved and showcase close collaboration on sustainability initiatives across the university.
Arizona State University: The Center For Negative Carbon Emissions
Arizona State University’s Center for Negative Carbon Emissions is at the forefront of advancing direct air capture (DAC) technologies, crucial for achieving a carbon-negative economy. The center has developed an innovative carbon management cycle focused on capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air.
Their goal is to demonstrate a system that enhances the efficiency and scalability of DAC while reducing costs. Currently, they are testing a prototype technology utilizing “mechanical trees” to extract CO2 from the air. These 10-meter-high structures employ a sorbent, an anionic exchange resin, which absorbs CO2 when dry and releases it when exposed to moisture.
Within just 20 minutes, these “mechanical trees” can capture greenhouse gases brought by the wind. The collected CO2 is then converted into a liquid that can be used to produce carbon-neutral fuel, other products, or sequestered for permanent disposal.
The research on mechanical trees has been ongoing for two decades and was pioneered by Dr. Klaus Lackner, the director of the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions. These trees are remarkably efficient, being a thousand times more effective than natural trees at removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
In addition to technological advancements, the center also examines the economic, political, and social implications of widespread implementation of affordable DAC technology, aiming to lead the way in the field of direct air capture.
ASU Climate Positive Pledge
Since fiscal year 2019, the university has been carbon neutral for scope 1 and 2 emissions through energy efficiency measures, green construction, offsetting, and renewable energy acquisition. The university is working toward achieving the same for its Scope 3 emissions by 2035.
ASU emphasizes energy efficiency and conservation through various initiatives. The university also promotes low-carbon energy sources, with 43% of energy in 2022 coming from such sources.
The school further aims for carbon-neutral transportation by 2035, achieving a milestone with single-occupancy vehicle travel reduced to 59% in 2022. Initiatives include bike parking expansion, ride-sharing incentives, electrification of fleet vehicles, and free intercampus shuttles. ASU also imposes a carbon price on air travel to mitigate emissions.
ASU climate positive commitments are as follows:
- Achieve carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by FY 2025.
- Update: achieved carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions in FY 2019.
- Achieve carbon neutrality for Scope 3 emissions by FY 2035.
- Update: in progress, reduced 69% since FY 2007.
According to its recent sustainability report, ASU cut net emissions for Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 91% per 1,000 square feet of building space and 90% per student.
2. Scope 3 emissions primarily occur in third-party commuting and air travel associated with ASU operations.
The post How Top U.S. Universities Cut Their Carbon Emissions to Help Fight Climate Change appeared first on Carbon Credits.
Key takeaways
- SBTi is the default reference point for corporate climate action: 51% of Fortune Global 500 companies now hold net-zero targets, up from 8% in 2020, and over 11,000 organizations worldwide have SBTi-validated targets.
- Net Zero Standard V2 redefines climate leadership as reducing emissions and mitigating ongoing emissions, not reduction alone.
- The new standard adds flexibility through five-year cycles, a “best efforts” standard, and an Asset Transition Method for companies whose path to net-zero doesn’t fit a straight-line trajectory.
- Voluntary carbon credits are formally recognized for the first time, with reduction and removal credits accepted from 2027, and removals required from 2035.
- Companies with 2030 targets keep using V1 for their current cycle and move to V2 in 2028; companies without targets can start using V2 on February 1, 2027.
Why every business needs to understand the SBTi Net-Zero Standard revision
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has become the default reference point for credible corporate climate action. Net-zero targets are now held by 51% of Fortune Global 500 (FG500) companies, up dramatically from just 8% in 2020, and more than 11,000 organizations worldwide have set SBTi-validated targets.
However, SBTi’s influence extends well beyond the companies formally participating in the program. Every business in the value chain of an SBTi participant will have to reduce its own carbon emissions, and businesses that aren’t SBTi participants themselves still look to the program for guidance on climate action.
In short, SBTi gives every business a credible blueprint for climate action, and companies that follow its principles can pursue climate action with confidence, whether or not they’re formally part of the program.
How will the Net Zero Standard revision affect business climate action?
SBTi participation is expected to grow. Despite strong target-setting participation among the F500, only 17% of companies use the SBTi Net Zero Standard V1 beyond target setting, largely because its rules have been seen as too rigid to apply in practice. Much of the Net Zero Standard revision has focused on creating more flexibility to enable higher participation. Medium and small businesses will also increasingly feel pressure for climate action, since SBTi mandates that its participants reduce carbon emissions across their value chains.
Net Zero Standard V2 also redefines climate leadership: leading climate action now means reducing emissions and mitigating ongoing emissions. Reducing your own emissions while ignoring the emissions you continue to release along the way is no longer considered leadership. Supporting voluntary carbon projects with high-integrity carbon credits is now backed by the leading authority on corporate climate action.
What lessons shaped the Net Zero Standard V2 revision?
The revision reflects a few learnings about what actually drives climate progress, and how SBTi built those lessons into the new standard.
| Net Zero Standard V1 Learnings | Net Zero Standard V2 Implementation |
|---|---|
| Making real short-term progress is more important and more difficult than making big long-term promises | Focus on short-term climate progress |
| Every company has a different path to net zero that doesn’t always fit generalized net-zero rules | Create asset transition plans based on each company’s unique asset lifecycles and capital planning |
| We need to mitigate our ongoing emissions to keep global carbon emissions in check | Reduce global carbon emissions by financing voluntary carbon projects with high-integrity carbon credits |
What are the key changes between the old and new Net Zero Standard?
Both versions of the standard are grounded in net-zero by 2050. However, the old standard treated climate leadership as simply reducing emissions, expected a long-term commitment to net zero, based emission reduction targets on generalized net-zero goals, revoked status from companies that fell behind on targets, and ignored voluntary carbon projects entirely.
The new standard treats climate leadership as reducing emissions and mitigating ongoing emissions. It shifts the focus to short-term progress through five-year cycles, and it bases emission reduction targets on both the net-zero goal and a company’s own asset decarbonization plan. A new Asset Transition Method lets companies set decarbonization targets through asset plans with committed, verifiable steps; an ambitious but achievable path based on a company’s starting point, financial resources, and technology, with multiple pathways to reflect the unique opportunities and constraints of different industries and companies.
Crucially, the new standard moves to a “best efforts” basis that creates real flexibility on progress against targets. Businesses that miss their targets can keep their status if they’ve used “every lever” within their control, and minimum progress rules will be set out in the SBTi Assurance Manual.
Finally, the new standard formally uses voluntary carbon projects to mitigate ongoing emissions. From 2027 through 2034, this mitigation is recognized, and both carbon reduction and removal credits are accepted. From 2035 forward, mitigation with carbon removal credits becomes required, with durability matching between the removal and the emission it offsets.
| Old Net Zero Standard | New Net Zero Standard |
|---|---|
| Grounded in net-zero by 2050 | Grounded in net-zero by 2050 |
| Climate leadership is reducing emissions | Climate leadership is reducing emissions and mitigating ongoing emissions |
| Make a long-term commitment to net-zero | Focus on short-term progress in 5-year cycles |
| Emission reduction targets are based on net-zero goal |
|
| Businesses who fall behind targets lose status |
|
| Ignores voluntary carbon projects |
|
When does the new Net Zero Standard take effect?
Companies with existing 2030 targets should continue using the old Net Zero Standard for their current cycle, and start using the new Net Zero Standard in 2028 to set targets for the next cycle (2030–2035).
Companies that don’t yet have targets can use the new Net Zero Standard starting February 1, 2027.
What are SBTi’s Category A and Category B companies?
The new Net Zero Standard splits companies into two categories, with different requirements attached to each.
Category A covers large companies from all countries and medium-sized companies from high-income countries. A company from any country qualifies if it meets at least one of: net turnover of €450 million or more, or 1,000 or more full-time employees. A company from a high-income country qualifies if its Scope 1 and 2 emissions are 10,000 tCO2e or more, or if it meets at least two of: balance sheet of €25 million or more, net turnover of €50 million or more, or 250 or more full-time employees.
Category B covers small companies from all countries and medium-sized companies from lower-income countries.
How do Scope 1 targets work under Net Zero Standard V2?
Scope 1 targets aim to transition companies to net-zero direct emissions by 2050 or sooner, and companies can choose from three approaches.
- Absolute emissions reduction follows a straight-line emissions trajectory from the target base year to the net-zero year.
- Emissions intensity reduction lets companies follow sector-specific pathways designed to reflect the reduction opportunities available in sectors like steel, cement, or chemicals.
- Asset transition is designed for companies whose capital stock turnover doesn’t follow a linear or sector pathway. These companies design a transition plan to operate existing assets efficiently and replace them with low-carbon assets, using predetermined milestones.
How do Scope 2 targets work under Net Zero Standard V2?
Scope 2 targets address emissions from purchased electricity through three pathways:
- Reducing electricity consumption,
- Reducing grid consumption by installing onsite or direct-line offsite clean energy generation, and
- Cleaning up the regional grid using market-based tools like PPAs, RECs, and GOs that drive clean energy development.
V2 introduces a dual Scope 2 framework requiring two separate targets, with an overall goal of 100% low-carbon electricity by 2040.
The location-based target addresses the carbon intensity of a company’s physical power use, and requires companies to show that their grid consumption is falling and/or that their physical grid use is getting cleaner; in other words, that their market-based solutions are actually making the grid cleaner.
The market-based (or zero-carbon electricity) target tracks a company’s use of low-carbon power generation contracts and Energy Attribute Certificates. It requires geographical matching of these certificates with electricity consumption based on deliverability regions (grid regions); annual matching is allowed, though hourly matching is encouraged. Category A companies with large electricity loads must report the percentage of their Scope 2 electricity consumption matched with low-carbon attributes on an hourly basis, and there’s an optional recognition framework for companies that meet hourly matching thresholds.
How do Scope 3 targets work under Net Zero Standard V2?
Scope 3 targets share the same 2050-or-sooner net-zero goal, but companies set near-term targets only for material emissions sources in their value chain and areas where they have real influence. Long-term Scope 3 targets are generally not required.
Limited, justified exclusions are allowed for near-term targets, including categories that individually account for less than 5% of total Scope 3 emissions, and activities where a company lacks practical influence, like leased assets it doesn’t operationally control, or the processing of sold products. Optional exclusions are also available in specific categories.
Companies can choose from three approaches to near-term Scope 3 targets:
- An overarching emissions reduction target, which follows a linear contraction of emissions from the base year to residual emissions of 10% or less by 2050 or sooner;
- An overarching supplier/customer alignment target, benchmarked against a growing share of tier 1 suppliers and customers reaching net-zero by 2050 or sooner; or
- A category- or activity-specific target, tailored for companies with concentrated emissions in particular Scope 3 categories or high-emitting activities.
What is “ongoing emissions mitigation” under the new SBTi standard?
This is one of the most significant additions in Net Zero Standard V2. Accelerated climate contributions are needed to help the world achieve climate objectives, limit temperature overshoot, mitigate transition risks, and support the scale-up of climate solutions, and V2 formally recognizes that. Ongoing emissions mitigation runs as a parallel track to companies also reducing their own emissions.
The framework is initially voluntary, with recognition available at three contribution levels to encourage early action.
- Engaged companies address more than 1% of total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
- Advanced companies address more than 10% of total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, including 100% of Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
- Leadership companies address 100% of total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions with a contribution budget of $80/tCO2e.
Carbon credits used for this purpose have to meet certain quality standards. They must be ex-post (issued after the mitigation has actually occurred), independently third-party-assured, emissions reductions or removals, measured in tCO2e, that occur within five years prior to the reporting year. They must be sourced from outside the company’s own value chain. Further minimum criteria will be set to align with high-integrity frameworks, with additional details on the recognition program expected in the second half of 2026.
Starting in 2035, carbon removals become mandatory for Category A companies. From that point, the carbon removal coverage requirement rises linearly from 1% of Scope 1–3 emissions to 100% by a company’s net-zero year. Within that, 10% of long-lived GHG emissions must specifically be covered by durable removals, also rising linearly to 100% by the net-zero year.
How must companies neutralize residual emissions?
At a company’s net-zero target year and thereafter, it must reduce its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions to zero or to residual levels, and neutralize all residual emissions using eligible carbon removals. Those removals have to meet two conditions: they must occur within the same reporting period as the residual emissions they’re neutralizing, and long-lived GHGs must be neutralized with long-lived removals, matching the durability of the removal to the atmospheric lifetime of the emission being addressed.
What is the SBTi implementation hierarchy?
Net Zero Standard V2 also lays out how companies should prioritize their actions for credible target delivery, in three tiers.
- Direct actions, at the activity level, are actions that reduce emissions at the source within a company’s own operations and value chain; things like efficiency improvements, fuel switching, and engaging suppliers and customers to reduce their emissions.
- Actions within shared systems, or activity pools that reduce the emissions of shared systems like electricity or gas grids. This includes market instruments that convey low-carbon attributes, such as PPAs, RECs, and GOs, all of which must meet minimum integrity criteria that SBTi will elaborate on in future guidance.
- Sector-level actions relate to the same type of activity occurring in a relevant geography or system, in a way that meaningfully reduces the emissions a company is responsible for.
How Terrapass helps businesses meet the new SBTi standard
As the rules around carbon credits become more rigorous, the quality of the credits behind them matters more than ever. Terrapass has expanded our global network of carbon projects: more project types, locations, prices, ICVCM CCPs, and UN SDGs, spanning super-pollutant destruction, nature-based solutions, and durable removals. We offer Green-e® Climate Certification and we only source from third-party-verified projects on ICVCM-Eligible registries.
We also help clients with impact beyond carbon: EACs, RECs, and GOs including Green-e® Certified credits that support leading renewable energy projects; water credits that support water restoration projects; and custom environmental product needs like RNG and SAF. Wherever your organization is on its sustainability journey, we help clients around the world address climate risk, advance their environmental and social goals, and get the most out of their sustainability budgets.
FAQ: SBTi Net-Zero Standard revision
What is the SBTi Net-Zero Standard?
It’s the framework the Science Based Targets initiative publishes for companies that want validated, credible net-zero targets tied to limiting global warming.
What is changing in the SBTi Net Zero Standard V2 revision?
The biggest changes are more flexibility (five-year cycles and a “best efforts” standard), a new Asset Transition Method for companies whose emissions don’t follow a straight-line path, and formal recognition of voluntary carbon credits for mitigating ongoing emissions.
When do companies need to switch to the new SBTi standard?
If your company already has 2030 targets, you keep using V1 for your current cycle and move to V2 in 2028. If you don’t have targets yet, you can start using V2 as of February 1, 2027.
Can companies use carbon credits to meet SBTi targets?
They can. Under V2, high-integrity carbon reduction and removal credits count toward mitigating ongoing emissions from 2027 through 2034. Starting in 2035, only removal credits count, and they need to be durability-matched to the emissions they offset.
What’s the difference between Category A and Category B companies under SBTi?
Category A is large companies everywhere plus medium-sized companies in high-income countries, based on thresholds like revenue, headcount, or emissions. Category B is small companies everywhere and medium-sized companies in lower-income countries.
What happens if a company misses its SBTi target?
Under the old standard, falling behind could cost a company its SBTi status. Under V2’s “best efforts” approach, a company can hold onto its status as long as it’s used every lever within its control, with minimum progress rules coming in the SBTi Assurance Manual.
Sources: This post is based on Terrapass’s internal analysis of the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0. Facts and figures were checked against SBTi’s official V2.0 announcement, SBTi’s Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 — Chapter 6: Ongoing Emissions Responsibility, Trellis’s coverage of the standard, Trellis’s reporting on Ongoing Emissions Recognition costs, Sylvera’s analysis of what comes next, Anthesis Group’s Fortune 500 net-zero commitments research, and Climate Impact Partners’ seventh annual FG500 analysis, as reported by CarbonUnits.com.
The post SBTi Net-Zero Standard V2: What the Revision Means for Every Business appeared first on Terrapass.
For most businesses, the emissions that matter most sit outside their own walls. Scope 3 emissions, everything generated across your value chain, from the suppliers who make your inputs to the customers who use your products, typically make up the majority of a company’s total carbon footprint. Under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), those value-chain emissions now have to be measured and disclosed with a rigour that spend-based estimates alone struggle to satisfy. This guide sets out how to improve Scope 3 data accuracy for CSRD: the calculation methods open to you, how to move from estimates to verified supplier data, and how to govern that data so it holds up to audit.
A carbon credit is a commitment that extends well into the future. The tonne of CO₂ compensated for today from a nature-based carbon project must remain out of the atmosphere for good, which means the forest behind the credit has to remain standing long after the transaction is complete. For any buyer, this raises a defining question: What ensures that the forest endures?
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