What’s next: Key climate and nature standards in 2026

Welcome to the Trellis timeline of updates and public consultations regarding voluntary net zero, carbon accounting, nature and circular economy standards — both established guidance and emerging frameworks.

This roundup was updated on April 15 to include new and updated information about frameworks from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the Advanced and Indirect Mitigation Platform, the International Sustainability Standards Board, the International Organization for Standardization and Carbon Measures.

Jump directly to your category of interest for details. The featured categories:

• Emissions accounting (Greenhouse Gas Protocol)
• Net-zero and impact targets
• Circularity
• Biodiversity and nature
• Reporting frameworks
• Environmental management
• Methodologies to watch

This list is not comprehensive. It is updated periodically as new drafts are published, new standards take effect or public consultations are opened — so bookmark this page. If you’d like to suggest an addition or update, email editor@trellis.net. 

Emissions accounting (The Greenhouse Gas Protocol)

Actions and Market Instruments
Status: A first public consultation of one potential component — consequential accounting for electricity — ended Jan. 31, and a white paper covers what to expect.
Key dates: GHG Protocol seeks feedback on the document until May 31, 2026. The draft standard will be circulated for feedback in Q3. 
What: GHG Protocol is proposing new rules for accounting for the benefits of climate actions that companies take beyond their direct operations. Investments in supply chains and other areas, sometimes known as insets or value-chain interventions, are not covered by existing reporting frameworks.
Updated 4/16/26

Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
Status: An overhaul is under review by the organization’s independent standards board.
Key dates: A first draft due for public consultation in Q2.
What: The Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, first published by the GHG Protocol in 2001, one of the first methodologies developed to help companies create comprehensive greenhouse gas inventories; the suite of standards includes amendments for Scope 2 (related to electricity) and Scope 3 (value chain emissions).
Added 2/12/26

Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
Status: Draft for public consultation is due in the second half of 2026.
Key dates: The working group took up its final topic of discussion — how to manage circularity — in April. 
What: The standard, first released in 2011, measures emissions from 15 categories of upstream and downstream activities outside a company’s direct control, such as purchased goods and services. The revision may change those groupings. It’s expected to offer guidance for how to report on sustainable aviation fuel as well as other contracts that companies use to avoid emissions.
Updated 4/16/26

Land Sector and Removals Standard 
Status: Published Feb. 2 and due to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
Key dates: Feedback sought by April 24 on related guidance and future updates.
What: Land Sector and Removals Standard, a new GHG Protocol methodology for reporting on nature-based and engineered carbon removal projects, was five years in the making. It offers comprehensive guidance for calculating emissions generation and removal and accommodates the use of “mass balance,” which lets companies mix low-carbon and conventional crops.
Updated 4/16/26

Scope 2 Guidance
Status: The GHG Protocol closed a consultation on a major and controversial revision of its rules for reporting renewable energy contracts and transactions on Jan. 31.
Key dates: Feedback will be collected on a second draft later in 2026, with a final draft anticipated by 2027.
What: The methodology, first published in 2015, is widely used by companies to report on renewable energy transactions, including power purchase agreements for solar and wind power.

Net-zero and impact targets

B Lab Standards (a.k.a B Corp Certification) (B Lab Global)
Status: Version 7 of the certification took effect March 11. 
What: B Lab’s certification standards require companies to meet minimum performance thresholds in seven environmental, social and governance topics and commit to continuous improvement. The changes, after four years of public consultation, were made as more large companies seek certification. 
Added 3/17/26

Corporate Net Zero (Science Based Targets initiative)
Status: Public consultations on the first draft closed in December.
Key dates: The next draft is due in spring 2026. 
What: SBTi is shepherding a major revision of the Corporate Net Zero Standard, version 2.0, that anticipates the organization finalizing in 2026 to take effect on Jan. 1, 2028. Approximately 2,220 companies have validated SBTi pledges to become net zero by 2050, while another 2,800 are setting them.  
Added 2/12/26

ISO Net Zero (International Organization of Standardization)
Status: ISO is reviewing the draft of its first standard for “net-zero aligned organizations.”
Key dates: Consultation draft was due in early 2026; it still hasn’t been published as of April 15.
What: The methodology originated as a guidelines document, but ISO decided to turn it into a full-blown standard at the urging of companies and other stakeholders frustrated with the rigidity of other net-zero frameworks.   
Updated 4/16/26

Power Sector Net-Zero Standard (SBTi)
Status: Developed in collaboration with 120 experts, a final version of the rules is due in Q4. 
Key dates: Pilot testing for the guidance to launch after Q1.
What: The SBTi’s net-zero guidance for electric utilities, which dovetails with the organization’s Corporate Net Zero Standard, was circulated for industry consultation in late 2025.
Added 3/17/26

Circularity

Global Circularity Protocol for Business (World Business Council for Sustainable Development)
Status: Version 1.0 published in November 2025.
What: The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and One Planet Network consulted more than 150 experts to develop what’s being described at the GHG Protocol for the circular economy. The 236-page playbook offers guidance for how to identify priority materials for reuse or recycling, and how to measure the impact of using recovered materials versus virgin ones.
Added 2/12/26

Reusable Packaging Systems Design Standard (PR3: The Global Alliance to Advance Reuse and CSA Group)
Status: Design requirements for refillable containers appropriate for the food and beverage industry, published Feb. 25.
What: Standards organizations PR3: The Global Alliance to Advance Reuse, and CSA Group are collaborating to write six standards that dictate how companies use reusable packaging for various applications in the U.S. and Canada. This is the second framework to be released, covering issues such as how many washes a container must be able to withstand and which chemicals are inappropriate.
Added 3/17/26  

Biodiversity and nature

GRI101: Biodiversity (Global Reporting Initiative)
Status: The latest revision is now in effect for reporting after Jan. 1.
What: GRI published a major revision to GRI101: Biodiversity, for disclosing corporate impacts on nature, in January 2024 to align with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. 
Added 2/12/26

International Water Stewardship Standard Version 3.0 (Alliance for Water Stewardship)
Status: Major revision released March 18.
What: Version 3.0, which corporations use to assess their water impacts and make disclosures, was adopted in December 2025 by the Alliance for Water Stewardship after two years of development and more than 3,000 public comments. Changes include clearer minimum requirements, more context about the alignment between water and climate goals, and tighter alignment with the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. 
Added 3/18/26

Science-based Targets for Nature (Science Based Targets Network)
Key dates: A major technical update is due in mid-2026, with a focus on land, freshwater and ocean commitments. 
What: The Science Based Target Network was formed to create guidance that covers science-based commitments related to freshwater, land, biodiversity, ocean and climate. The first part of its methodology was published in May 2023; so far, 10 companies have had targets validated including GSK, Holcim and Kering. 
Added 2/12/26

Reporting frameworks

GRI Pollution Project (GRI)
Status: Drafts for public comment published in late March, with a final standard scheduled for publication in 2027.
Key dates: Comments are open until June 8.
What: GRI is revising existing disclosure frames for ozone-depleting substances, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides and other significant air emissions. The organization wants companies to report in more detail about the impact of their emissions on air, soil and water. It also expects more data on how they handle pollution crises.
Added 3/17/26

SASB Standards Exposure Draft (International Sustainability Standards Board) 
Key dates: Feedback sought by July 24.  
What: ISSB is part of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, which manages frameworks that companies use for disclosures to investors. The SASB Standards — used to report on sustainability-related risks —are all being updated to align better with ISSB’s other frameworks. The draft covers the remaining three methods that need an update: agricultural products; meat, poultry and dairy; and electricity utilities and power generators.  
Added 4/16/26

TNFD Sector Guidance (Alternative fuels) (Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures)
Key dates: Stakeholders can submit comments until May 5.
What: The Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures is looking for comments on suggested metrics for how companies that make biofuels or sustainable aviation fuels should report on risks and impacts related to nature and biodiversity. The rules build on the initiative’s LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess and Prepare) methodology, which integrates frameworks from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and the International Standards Board.
Added 3/17/26

Environmental management

ISO 14001 (International Organization of Standardization)
Status: The 2026 edition of the standard was published April 15.
What: More than 670,000 organizations use ISO 14001, the world’s most widely adopted environmental management systems standard, to certify their operational practices for resource use, waste and pollution. The update includes adjustments that reflect shifting priorities, including new practices related to nature and biodiversity.
Added 4/16/26

Plus, methodologies to watch

Advanced and Indirect Mitigation (AIM) Platform (The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Center for Green Market Activation and Gold Standard)
Status: Version 1 of the guidance document published on April 14.
What: Guidelines for measuring and reporting the impact associated within “insetting” projects meant to reduce the emissions in corporate supply chains. The standard was piloted by H&M, Netflix, Patagonia and 30 other companies. Patagonia, for example, is monitoring how a transition away from gas-fired boilers can cut the footprint associated with fabric dyeing.
Updated 4/16/26

Book & Claim standard (ISO)
Status: Published Jan. 22.
What: A system from ISO for claiming emissions reduction credits related to corporate procurement of green steel, low-carbon cement, sustainable aviation fuel, clean hydrogen and other emerging technologies that have lower carbon footprints than traditional options.
Added 2/12/26

Carbon Measures 
Status: Reached 26 members, including Bank of America and Toyota. Added 23 advisors, including experts from BASF, Dow, Microsoft and RMI.
Key dates: The group’s first report is due this summer. 
What: The controversial initiative, co-founded by ExxonMobil, seeks to create an emissions accounting system focused on products not broad categories. It’s linked to E-liabilities, which advocates a methodology that measures the carbon footprint of products and then assigns part of the carbon “liability” to customers.   
Added 4/16/26

Mitigation Action Accounting and Reporting Guidance (Task Force for Corporate Action Transparency, or TCAT)
Status: Feedback from pilots by Etsy, PepsiCo and REI published in early February.
Key dates: Public consultation planned for April to July 2026, with deeper revisions anticipated in the fall.
What: One of two new frameworks developed by TCAT, formed two years ago by former practitioners from Netflix, Amazon and other well-known companies. The rules outline ways to report on emissions reduction initiatives that don’t fit neatly into existing GHG Protocol rules.
Updated 3/17/26

NEW: Scope 3 Standard (S3S) Program (Verra)
Status: Under development.
Key dates: Version 1 anticipated in the third quarter of 2026.
What: Verra, which manages the world’s most widely used standard for voluntary carbon credits, is preparing to introduce a methodology that will enable companies to report on the impact of projects within their value chain, sometimes known as insetting. The framework will align with other emerging and established frameworks, including the AIM Platform (see above) and Version 2 of the Science Based Targets initiative’s Corporate Net Zero Standard. 
Added 4/16/26

Target Accounting and Reporting Guidance (TCAT)
Status: Feedback from pilots by Etsy, PepsiCo and REI published in early February.
Key dates: Public consultation planned for April to July 2026, with deeper revisions anticipated in the fall.
What: The second of two methodologies being tested by TCAT, the framework is meant to provide a way for companies a standardized way of reporting on progress toward voluntary emissions reduction goals. 
Updated 3/17/26