6 things to know about SBTi’s new strategic plan

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has published a new strategic plan, covering 2026 to 2030, that prioritizes sector-specific approaches for decarbonization, changes how companies are treated when they fail to hit targets and introduces advisory services.

The new strategy, outlined in the 35-page plan published May 21, amounts to a significant reset for the organization and comes one year after former EY consultant and U.K. government climate advisor David Kennedy took over as CEO. 

The SBTi describes its shift from an “ambition setter” that encourages companies to adopt science-based targets to a “transformation partner” that helps them deliver on those pledges. 

But the changes also raise questions about potential conflicts of interest and how — or if — the organization will hold companies to account.

Close to 11,000 companies have used SBTI’s guidance for near-term emissions reduction pledges; roughly 2,600 have set corporate net-zero targets. The latest draft of SBTi’s revision to the net-zero standard was circulated for feedback in late 2025; an update is due by the end of June, and the standard is due to be finalized in 2026.

Rapid development of sector-specific guidance

SBTi is fast-tracking work on frameworks for emissions-intensive and high-impact sectors, with plans to publish information about those approaches by the end of 2027. Some highlights:

• Guidelines for the automotive industry and power companies are being finalized after consultations in late 2025. 
• SBTi will update its guidance on forestry, land use and agriculture — especially the accounting methodology — after feedback from more than 400 companies.  
• Approaches for shipping and aviation are under review, with a focus on how to recognize fuel-efficiency improvements and the use of alternatives, such as biofuels.
• Also under review: new standards for buildings, oil and gas, steel, cement, chemicals and aluminum. 

Recognition for high-integrity environmental credits

In a break from its past, SBTi continues to evaluate market mechanisms that allow companies to claim emissions reduction credit for investing in emerging low-carbon technologies within their value chains. 

These “book and claim” schemes are well established in sustainable aviation and have recently expanded to maritime shipping, steel, carbon capture and multiple other areas. SBTi plans to publish guidance for these mechanisms by the end of 2027.

Carbon credits from projects outside of a company’s value chain are not expected to be allowed to count toward emissions goals. SBTi said that it is consulting on the use of such credits as a “complement, not a substitute” to reduction of corporate footprints.

Focus on “best-effort” attempts

The strategy is light on details on what will happen when companies fail to hit emission targets, but the language suggests a desire to keep companies under the SBTi umbrella. 

The move comes as companies in multiple sectors are struggling to hit near-term targets. In automotive, for example, slow electric vehicle sales have left many manufacturers with only a slim chance of doing so.

“Companies with targets set in good faith and that have used all available levers, but which have a gap between performance and targets, can still remain in the SBTi framework and claim that they are continuing to progress to net zero,” the strategy reads.

Benchmarking resources 

The organization plans to consolidate the data it collects from corporations to create benchmarks that companies can use privately to compare their progress against industry peers. It envisions making some of that information public, to spur action.

SBTi’s move into private benchmarking could suggest expansion into consulting, which raises questions about its independence. According to the Wall Street Journal, the SBTi updated its conflict of interest statement last month to remove a clause that prohibited employees from advising companies on their targets. 

In an interview with the Journal, Kennedy rejected the idea that the update was connected to the new strategy and said that SBTi will work with groups of companies, not individual businesses.

These benchmarks should be complete by the end of 2026.

Streamlined validation services

SBTi Services, a wholly owned subsidiary that handles validation of corporate targets, is introducing a 30-day schedule. The current average is 47 days, a 50 percent reduction from waiting times in June 2024. 

The group’s priority is to prepare for the Corporate Net Zero Standard 2.0 launch and create a plan for companies preparing to transition from the earlier version of the standard. 

SBTi Services charges validation fees to cover its organizational costs. Some of that income funds the parent organization, along with donations from corporate philanthropies, including IKEA’s foundation.

SBTi Services is considering a subscription model to help with future budgeting.

New offices in Asia and Africa

Europe is home to more than 60 percent of the companies with science-based targets, but Asia is an increasingly close second.

SBTi plans to expand its presence in China, India and Japan and other countries in Southeast Asia, where large multinationals have big supply chains and governments are supportive of the net-zero transition.

It is also targeting Africa, where the organization currently has a limited presence.