A Complete Guide to the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0

On 11 June 2026, the Science Based Targets initiative published Version 2.0 of the Corporate Net-Zero Standard — the most substantial revision to corporate climate target-setting since the SBTi's founding. It consolidates the Near-Term Criteria and the original Corporate Net-Zero Standard into a single framework, and shifts the emphasis from ambition-setting to implementation accountability, with transition plans, ongoing emissions responsibility, and regular progress assessment now built into the Standard itself.

This guide distills the full Standard, its Executive Summary, Transition Guidance, FAQs, and supporting documentation into a single practitioner's reference.

What's in the guide

• Company categorisation under V2.0 — Category A and B definitions, and what category determines about your obligations
• A step-by-step path through target-setting — base year assessment, and Scope 1, 2, and 3 target design, with the relevant methods and pathways explained inline rather than left in separate technical appendices
• The Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) framework — what it requires, how it's tiered, and how it changes the shape of long-term delivery
• Transition guidance for all three company types — validated targets, active commitments, and not yet committed — each with the specific obligations and dates that apply
• A clear V1.3.1-to-V2.0 comparison, so teams can see exactly what's changed against what they already know
• Where Zevero's platform maps onto the new requirements, for teams thinking about how to operationalise this in practice, not just understand it

For a walkthrough of the key changes with Q&A, watch our on-demand webinar on the SBTi Corporate Net Zero Standard V2.0.