For over 11,000 companies globally, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) serves as the definitive rulebook for setting, validating, and achieving corporate climate targets.
With the publication of the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0, two fundamental questions that previously hung over the carbon management market have received much clearer direction: Does permanence matter, and when do companies need to buy?
The update delivers actionable answers to both—reshaping corporate procurement strategies and highlighting how a diverse portfolio of carbon management solutions will be essential to reaching global climate goals.
1. The “Like-for-Like” Principle: Aligning Removal Pathways with Emissions Profiles
Corporate climate action relies on a spectrum of vital solutions, from forestry and soil organic carbon practices to durable engineered and mineral removals. Standard V2.0 clarifies how different mitigation tools align with long-term climate targets through the “like-for-like” principle.
When a company reaches its net-zero target year, its residual long-lived greenhouse gas emissions, primarily fossil CO2, must be neutralized with permanent removals of matching durability.
This approach ensures that every carbon removal pathway plays to its distinct strength: short-to-medium term nature-based solutions deliver immediate ecosystem restoration and biodiversity protection, while high-permanence pathways like Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW), which locks atmospheric carbon into stable bicarbonate form for over 1,000 years, provide long-term neutralization for persistent fossil emissions.
2. A Concrete Timeline: Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER)
Rather than waiting until final target net-zero dates (e.g., 2040 or 2050) to build removal portfolios, SBTi V2.0 introduces the Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) framework. OER provides a structured roadmap for companies to invest in carbon removal pathways alongside ongoing internal decarbonization.
The framework outlines three voluntary engagement tiers today:
| OER Tier | Scope Coverage Requirement | Financial / Removal Target |
|---|---|---|
| Engaged | Mitigate at least 1% of ongoing Scope 1–3 emissions. | Initial commitment entry point. |
| Advanced | Cover 10% of the full Scope 1, 2 and 3 footprint. | Mandatory minimum spend of $20/tonne. |
| Leadership | Cover 100% of the full Scope 1–3 footprint. | Dedicated budget target of $80/tonne. |
Starting in 2035, Category A companies (large enterprises and mid-sized firms in high-income economies) face mandatory compliance. They must neutralize at least 1% of their long-lived Scope 1–3 emissions with permanent carbon removals, scaling linearly to 100% by their net-zero target year.
3. Clarifying Corresponding Adjustments
In earlier drafts of the V2.0 standard, proposed rules would have barred corporates from claiming credits if host countries counted those removals toward their own Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
The finalized V2.0 settled this debate: credits remain eligible for corporate claims regardless of whether a Corresponding Adjustment (CA) under Article 6 has been applied.
Companies must transparently disclose whether CAs are attached to their credits. While credits backed by Corresponding Adjustments carry the highest integrity tier, unadjusted credits remain valid for corporate net-zero and OER claims. This decision opens a clear runway for high-integrity carbon projects across Africa and the Global South to supply global corporate buyers across various credit categories.
4. Committing Today: Multi-Pathway Flexibility for Corporate Buyers
Waiting until 2035 to secure carbon removal volume exposes corporate buyers to severe market bottlenecks, price volatility, and unhedged compliance risk. Because project infrastructure—from feedstock supply chains to field-level measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV)—takes years to scale, forward-thinking organizations are committing now through early-stage investments, pre-purchases, and structured multi-year offtakes.
Under the SBTi V2.0 framework, corporate procurement teams need options that balance immediate budget constraints, near-term recognition, and long-term permanence criteria. Stack Carbon meets this demand by offering two complementary, high-integrity carbon removal pathways from a single operational platform across East Africa:
Stack Carbon Portfolio Flexibility
Enhanced Rock Weathering
- Durability: 1,000+ years
- Optimal for: Long-lived fossil GHG neutralization and maximum permanence
- Agronomic co-benefits: Soil pH balancing and silica replenishment
Biochar
- Durability: Hundreds of years
- Optimal for: Rapid scaling and near-term OER budget optimization
- Agronomic co-benefits: Carbon retention and improved soil water-holding capacity
By offering both pathways from a single operational platform across Africa, Stack Carbon provides corporate procurement teams with total contract flexibility. Sustainability leaders can structure tailored portfolios, combining ERW for maximum long-term permanence with Biochar for immediate deployment, matching their exact budget tiers, volume targets, and SBTi compliance timelines without being locked into a single technology.
Moving Toward a Balanced Carbon Market
SBTi’s Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 reinforces that meeting global climate goals requires a portfolio approach, combining rapid internal emissions reductions, immediate nature-based conservation, and scalable durable removals.
By providing clear rules for long-term neutrality alongside actionable entry points today, the new standard gives corporate leaders the clarity needed to invest in high-integrity carbon removal pathways with confidence.