SBTi CNZS V2.0 Decision Guide | Patch

Superpollutants: How market mechanisms can pull the emergency brake of climate change

Download the guide here.

Posted on July 14, 2026
Author: Matthew Klassen, Content Marketing Lead

SBTi published Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 (CNZS V2.0) in June 2026. More than 2,000 companies have active targets validated under SBTi's framework. The update contains meaningful departures from previous guidelines across target-setting, ongoing emissions responsibility (OER), and carbon market engagement. It creates specific decision points with specific deadlines. Some have dates attached. Others don't, but they compound in cost and complexity the longer you wait.

The CNZS V2.0 timeline at a glance

Decision 1: V1.3.1 or V2.0, and when?

CNZS V2.0 is live. Companies can still set or renew targets under V1.3.1 through 2028, and formal validation against V2.0 doesn't open until early 2027. That combination of timelines gives you room to choose, and a decision you cannot avoid making.

Scenarios for your company:

  1. No SBTi commitment yet
    You have two options. Commit under V1.3.1 now, which buys time to build the data infrastructure V2.0 requires, particularly for scope 3. Or wait and go straight to V2.0 when validation opens in early 2027.

  2. Validated target, next review due in 2027 or later.
    You likely have time to wait. Nothing in the standard requires early action. Monitor Q4 2026 guidance before deciding.

  3. Validated target, next review due in 2026 or early 2027.
    This is the most time-sensitive scenario. Revalidating under V1.3.1 may make sense if your scope 3 data isn't ready for V2.0's expanded target forms.

Decision 2: Which OER tier, and what does it cost?

Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) is how CNZS V2.0 handles the emissions companies haven't yet reduced. It combines what were previously beyond-value-chain mitigation and neutralization into a single framework, operated as a separate recognition program from your scope 1-3 targets.

The three tiers:

Decision 3: How to set an internal carbon price that works for V2.0

To set an internal carbon price (ICP) for CNZS V2.0, anchor it to the OER tier you are targeting: the financial commitments set practical price floors.

Examples of tiered ICP:

  1. One e-commerce company committed to 50% carbon market coverage...
  2. A European luxury goods company built a board-level business case...

Decision 4: How to plan your carbon removal supply before 2035

The mandatory removal requirement for Category A companies begins in 2035. Durable, engineered removals are supply-constrained today.

Portfolio decisions to work through now:

Decision 5: What to do if you miss a near-term target

The best-efforts basis in CNZS V2.0 allows a company that falls short at its end-of-cycle assessment to remain in good standing.

Decision 6: Where EACs fit, and where they don't

Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) and OER do different jobs under CNZS V2.0. They are tools for reducing market-based scope 2 and scope 3 figures to hit reduction targets.

Decision 7: What to watch in Q4 2026 before finalizing anything above

Several of the decisions above depend on guidance SBTi has signaled for Q4 2026.

What comes next

The standard is finalized. Guidance on which credits qualify is still coming. These seven decisions affect procurement budgets, finance policy approvals, investor disclosure, and legal documentation.

We put together a complete guide to CNZS V2.0 that walks through the standard's requirements and the decisions behind them. Download it here.
The full recording of our June 30 webinar is also available. Watch here.