SBTi 2.0 or 1.3.1: which version to use for your targets

On 11 June 2026 the SBTi published version 2.0 of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard, the standard companies use to set and validate their climate targets. From 1 February 2027 you can validate under SBTi 2.0, and for one year it runs alongside version 1.3.1. For many companies the question right now is a practical one: which version to submit targets under, and what data needs to be ready to do it.

This article sums up what changes, who each change affects and what should weigh on your choice of version. Everything comes from the SBTi’s own documents: the standard, its transition guidance and its FAQs. For the wider context, see what the SBTi is in our glossary and how to prepare your target submission.

The timeline: one year with two versions

Version 2.0 does not replace 1.3.1 overnight. There is a one-year transition in which each company chooses:

Date	What happens
11 June 2026	Version 2.0 is published
31 January 2027	Last day to register separate near-term or net-zero commitments
1 February 2027	Validation under 2.0 opens. New commitments become a single commitment, which can only be met under 2.0
31 January 2028	Last submission under 1.3.1 or the Near-Term Criteria V5.3. The submission date is what counts
1 February 2028	Version 2.0 is mandatory for every new submission

Some SBTi documents refer to “the end of 2027” as the cut-off for 1.3.1. The SBTi Services transition guidance, which sets the operational deadlines, says 31 January 2028.

What applies to you, depending on where you stand

Which version you can use depends on your situation today:

• You already have validated targets. They remain valid until the end of their cycle, with the mandatory five-year review. There is nothing to do right away. Your next submission, if it comes from February 2028 onwards, will be under 2.0. If your targets run to 2030, those for the 2030 to 2035 cycle will already be set under 2.0.
• You have a commitment but have not yet submitted targets. It depends on your commitment deadline: if it falls before February 2027, use 1.3.1; if it falls between February 2027 and January 2028, either version works; if it falls later, use 2.0. If your deadline falls before February 2027 and you would rather use 2.0, you can ask SBTi Services for an extension.
• You have not committed yet. Until 31 January 2027 you can register a near-term commitment that can be met under either version. From February, a new commitment can only be met under 2.0. You can also submit targets without a prior commitment.
• You plan to submit targets in 2027. You choose the version. Further down you will see what should weigh on that decision.

First, your category: A or B

Version 2.0 replaces the streamlined route for SMEs with two company categories, and many of the obligations depend on which one you fall into. You are a category A company if you meet any of these conditions:

1. In any country: net revenue of €450 million or more, or 1,000 or more full-time employees.
2. In a high-income country such as the UK or any EU member state: Scope 1 and 2 emissions of 10,000 tCO₂e or more, or two of these three figures: a balance sheet of €25 million or more, revenue of €50 million or more and 250 or more employees.

If you meet none of them, you are category B. The figures are those of the consolidated group, even if you set targets for a subsidiary, and you take the average of the last two financial years. The country is that of the ultimate parent company.

Be careful with the word “medium-sized”. The SBTi says category A includes medium-sized companies in high-income countries, but the thresholds in the second condition match the ones the EU Accounting Directive uses to define a large undertaking. A medium-sized company in the EU sense does not reach two of those three figures, so it is category B, unless it emits 10,000 tCO₂e or more in Scope 1 and 2. The English version of the standard is the definitive one.

What changes between the two categories:

• Scope 3: mandatory for A and optional for B, unless a B company sets a net-zero target.
• Assurance: A needs limited third-party assurance of the base year; for B it is recommended.
• Transition plan: mandatory for both. A must publish it no later than 15 months after validation.
• Faster validation: a B company with Scope 1 and 2 targets only and revenue of up to €25 million can follow a timeline of around 30 working days, compared with 60 on the standard route.

What changes in Scope 1 and 2

The most visible change is that the combined target disappears. Under 1.3.1, a single Scope 1 and 2 target had to cover 95% of those emissions. Under 2.0, each scope gets its own target and each one covers 100%. You also can no longer exclude anything from the inventory: 1.3.1 allowed up to 5% to be left out.

Other relevant changes:

• Timeframe and base year. Near-term targets become five-year targets, with the most recent year with complete data as the base year, and a new base year in each cycle. Version 1.3.1 allowed 5 to 10 years and any base year from 2015 onwards.
• Scope 1. It is set as a linear absolute reduction, as an intensity target following a sector pathway, or through an asset transition plan.
• Scope 2. Two options: reach a share of low-carbon electricity, or reduce emissions in absolute terms. Purchased heat, steam and cooling always take an absolute reduction. In category A, if you expect your electricity consumption to grow by more than 20% a year during the cycle, the target must be an absolute reduction.
• Physical inventory. Ambition is calculated on location-based Scope 2. Guarantees of origin and PPAs are used to show that you meet the target, and are reported separately.

For electricity to count as low-carbon it has to be renewable, nuclear or fitted with carbon capture, come from the grid zone where you consume it, and come from plants commissioned or repowered in the previous 15 years. Existing contracts are honoured until they expire. On 5 November the SBTi opened a 30-day comment period to clarify these rules; among other things, it proposes protecting contracts signed before 1 February 2027. Nothing has changed yet.

What changes in Scope 3

Under 1.3.1, a Scope 3 target was mandatory if Scope 3 exceeded 40% of total emissions, and it had to cover 67% of Scope 3. Under 2.0 both figures disappear. For category A the target is always mandatory and must cover every category, from 1 to 14, that accounts for 5% or more of Scope 3.

You do not need one target per category: a single overall target that covers them all is enough. And some emissions can be left out, with a justification, even when their category is above 5%: second-hand goods, category 3 if it is reduced by cutting energy use, employee commuting in full, and the parts of categories 8, 9, 10 and 14 that the company has no way of influencing.

Target types change too. Economic intensity targets disappear, and supplier engagement becomes alignment: increasing the share of direct suppliers (by emissions, spend or revenue) that have near-term SBTi targets or are aligned with net zero. Specific targets by category or activity are added, such as raw materials, transport, product use or end of life.

And there is a new concept for category A: emissions-intensive activities, such as purchases of steel, aluminium, cement or basic chemicals. You have to identify them and, if any accounts for 5% or more of Scope 3, its decarbonisation goes into the transition plan. Spend in euros is not enough to find them: you need purchases by material, in tonnes. We explain this in more detail in our guide to measuring and reducing purchased goods emissions in Scope 3.

Five-year cycles and progress tracking

Version 2.0 puts the focus on what happens after validation. Every year you publish progress on each target, the actions taken and the barriers you face, along with your Scope 1 and 2 emissions. Annual Scope 3 reporting becomes recommended. At the end of the cycle you present a full Scope 1 to 3 inventory against the base year within the following 12 months; in category A, with assurance.

If you miss a target, the “best efforts” principle applies: if you show that you used the levers within your reach and explain the barriers, you can set new targets. In return, the next cycle demands faster reductions.

Long term: net zero, removals and credits

Under 2.0, the net-zero target is optional, with 2050 as the deadline. Anyone who sets one has to neutralise 100% of their residual emissions in that year with carbon removals. In addition:

• From 2035, category A companies are expected to support removals equivalent to 1% of their emissions, a share that rises linearly to 100% in their net-zero year. The SBTi presents this as a requirement it will review in version 3.
• The ongoing emissions responsibility (OER) programme is voluntary. It recognises companies that take responsibility for part of their current emissions through climate contributions, and replaces the old recommendation to mitigate beyond the value chain.
• Carbon credits do not count towards meeting targets and are not deducted from the inventory.

How to decide between 1.3.1 and 2.0

There is no single answer, but some factors tip the balance. Version 1.3.1 may suit you if your inventory and modelling are already built on its rules, if your Scope 3 is below 40% of the total (under 1.3.1 that means no mandatory Scope 3 target) or if you are still missing some inventory data, because it allows up to 5% to be excluded.

Version 2.0 may suit you if you are category B and want to set Scope 1 and 2 targets only, if you would rather cover Scope 3 through its significant categories than through 67% of the total, or if your next cycle was going to be under 2.0 anyway. Keep in mind that if your targets were validated under 1.3.1, your next cycle will be under 2.0.

One more caveat: the SBTi has not yet published the final version of the 2.0 methods and pathways, which it expects to have from the last quarter of 2026. Until then, any annual reduction rate you read for 2.0 is provisional. The near-term methods have already shifted once this year: we covered the April 2026 change to the ACA method and what it means for 2030 targets.

What you need to have ready

Whichever version you choose, validation is decided on the data. Version 2.0 makes this more obvious: no exclusions, one target per scope, Scope 3 by category and, in category A, a third party assuring the base year. Before choosing a version, it helps to have:

• Revenue, balance sheet and headcount for the consolidated group over the last two financial years, to know your category.
• Scope 1 by site, covering all gases, and electricity in MWh by grid zone, with its guarantees of origin and PPAs.
• The Scope 3 inventory by category, with the weight of each one, and purchases by material in tonnes.
• The evidence behind every base-year figure: invoice, meter reading, emission factor and its version.

In Dcycle, the SBTi project lets you choose the criteria regime (the current version or 2.0), takes Scope 1 and 2 emissions from your carbon footprint with both location-based and market-based Scope 2, and Leia proposes answers to the validation questionnaire with the quote and page of the document they come from. Every figure keeps its evidence and traceability, which is what the verifier will review.

If you are weighing up which version to submit under, our SBTi page walks through how Dcycle prepares the submission. If you would rather see it with your own data, book a demo.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)