How SBTi’s Net-Zero Evolution Is Driving Corporate Demand for Carbon Removal

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.

As the largest ERW offtake agreement signed in Africa to date, the partnership represents a major commercial milestone for Stack Carbon and signals growing institutional confidence in Africa's emerging high-integrity carbon removal market.

Building Durable Carbon Removal in Africa

Stack Carbon develops scalable, high-integrity carbon removal solutions tailored to African agricultural landscapes. Our mission centers on deploying technologies that deliver verified atmospheric carbon removal while creating tangible, localized value for host communities.

Our Enhanced Rock Weathering pathway accelerates natural geological carbon sequestration. By applying finely crushed silicate rock to active agricultural soils, atmospheric CO2 reacts with dissolving minerals to permanently trap carbon in bicarbonate form.

Enhanced Rock Weathering field project in Africa — Enhanced Rock Weathering supporting durable carbon removal across African agricultural landscapes.

Beyond carbon removal, soil application offers critical co-benefits for smallholder farmers:

Soil Health Regeneration: Neutralizes soil acidity and replenishes vital micronutrients.
Agricultural Yield Support: Enhances soil structure and nutrient retention
Climate Resilience: Improves crop vitality in regions increasingly vulnerable to climate volatility.

The project is registered under the Rainbow Standard’s ERW Methodology, establishing a transparent and rigorous framework for monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV).

A Major Milestone for African CDR Landscape

Long-term offtake agreements provide the foundation for scaling the carbon removal ecosystem. They grant developers the revenue certainty needed to expand operations while guaranteeing buyers access to high-quality, durable credits.

For Wild Assets, this transaction marks its largest global ERW commitment to date and its initial asset entry into Africa.

"This is our largest ERW offtake to date, and our first asset in Africa. Our trust in Stack Carbon originates from the demonstrated conduct of the team—in the field, in the lab, and throughout the commercial process—as well as the thoughtful fit of the project to the region’s geography."

— Matan Rudis, Partner and Co-founder at Wild Assets

Central to Stack Carbon’s operational philosophy is the alignment of global climate demand with local economic development. Carbon removal projects in emerging economies must deliver direct benefits to the landscapes and communities hosting them.

By integrating rock application into existing farming workflows, Stack Carbon ensures that the financial and environmental value generated by the net-zero transition directly supports rural livelihoods and soil restoration.

Scaling Future Ambitions

The Wild Assets agreement provides momentum toward a much broader target:

1,000,000+ Tonnes: Total durable CDR targeted for delivery by 2035.
250,000 Hectares: Agricultural land targeted for regeneration across Uganda and Madagascar.
Local Infrastructure: Long-term investment in regional sampling labs, MRV logistics, and supply chain capacity.

Africa possesses the geological assets, agricultural scale, and entrepreneurial capability to lead the next generation of durable carbon removal. Stack Carbon is building that infrastructure from the ground up.

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 full Scope 1, 2, and 3 footprint	Mandatory minimum spend of $20/tonne
Leadership	Cover 100% of full Scope 1–3 footprint	Dedicated budget target of $80/tonne

The 2035 Compliance Checkpoint

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:

ENHANCED ROCK WEATHERING (ERW)

Durability: 1,000+ Years
Optimal For: Long-lived fossil GHG neutralization & maximum permanence
Agronomic Co-benefits: Soil pH balancing & silica replenishment

BIOCHAR

Durability: Hundreds of Years
Optimal For: Rapid scaling & near-term OER budget optimization
Agronomic Co-benefits: Carbon retention & soil water-holding

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.