SBTi: Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0 Public Consultation

Following a controversial announcement regarding the use of Environmental Attribute Certificates (EAC); the SBTi has decided to conduct a comprehensive review of its Net Zero Standard.

The process began last year, notably with a controversial announcement by the Board regarding the use of EAC to achieve the goals of Scope 3 — a decision that sparked numerous reactions, including ours, published in our op-ed in Les Échos as well as in an in-depth analysis on our website.

In March, the SBTi launched a new public consultation on the revised standard. After conducting a thorough analysis of the SBTi documents, here is a summary of the main changes proposed in this first draft: Structural changes:

• Changes in corporate commitments, including:
  • a Scope 1 target based on a carbon budget and separate from the Scope 2 target,
  • a dual approach (location-based/market-based) for Scope 2,
  • a higher level of granularity for Scope 3;
• Taking into account the economic and geographic context of businesses;
• Details on public claims and contributions outside the value chain.

 But also, in our view, some remaining limitations :

• A lack of consideration regarding the physical feasibility of the net-zero scenarios proposed by SBTi;
• A excessive focus on reducing intensity, at the expense of the issues of simplicity;
• Limited consideration of the challenges faced by stakeholders who propose solutions for the transition.

We did, in fact, respond to this public consultation, and we are sharing our feedback with you here.

To read it and stay up to date on our SBTi news, Please fill out our form here.

Our experts who responded to the consultation: Isaure Marchand, Brunehilde Senellard De Vrière, Mélodie Pitre,Rodrigo Baranna, Gabriel Follin-Arbelet, Pierre Maquet, Antoine Crepel and Florian Zito