← Overview
Practical implications

What it means for you.

Two questions cut through V2.0 for most companies: how is action beyond my own inventory actually valued? and what do I do, depending on where I am today? This page answers both, and ends with concrete next steps.

1 · How beyond-inventory action is valued

Recognition and claims — not reductions.

V2.0 clearly does value action beyond your own emissions inventory — but it is deliberate about how. The single most important point to brief stakeholders on: only changes in your physical GHG inventory lower your footprint or count toward target progress. Everything beyond the inventory is valued through separate recognition and the right to make specific claims — never by reducing your reported emissions.

Beyond-inventory action buys you recognition and credible claims — it does not buy you a lower number.

1 · Counts as a reduction What qualifies Changes in your physical GHG inventory only How it's valued Lowers your footprint Counts toward target progress the only lane that moves the number 2 · System-contribution claim What qualifies Activity-pool & sector actions not in the inventory How it's valued Claim you're contributing to decarbonising a system reported separately · no footprint change 3 · OER recognition What qualifies Contributions for your ongoing emissions How it's valued Public recognition on the SBTi Dashboard (tiered) reported separately · not netted Only lane 1 changes your reported emissions. Lanes 2 and 3 give recognition and the right to specific, bounded claims.
The three ways action is valued under V2.0 — and the firewall between reductions and everything else.

What you can and cannot say

Reduction claim
Permitted only from physical-inventory changes. “We cut our scope 1 emissions by X%.”
Alignment claim
From activity-level actions that produce measurable change in your operations or value chain.
System-contribution claim
From pool/sector actions reported separately. “We are contributing to decarbonising the steel system” — not “we reduced our footprint”.
OER recognition
Public recognition on the SBTi Dashboard for covering a share of ongoing emissions — separate from, and additional to, your targets.
The practical takeaway

Beyond-inventory action is worth doing — it earns public recognition, supports credible system-level claims, and prepares you for the 2035 removals duty. But build the business case on recognition and claim rights, not on a lower reported number. Mixing the two is exactly what V2.0's separate-reporting rules are designed to prevent.

Source: CNZS V2.0 — C37.10 (claims), Chapter 6 (OER)
2 · Where you stand today

Your starting point shapes your path.

The transition lands differently depending on whether you already hold validated SBTi targets.

If you already hold SBTi targets

Protect the current cycle; plan the switch

  • Targets for 2030 or later (or under 2028 review) — keep them; don't re-open now.
  • Plan to move to V2.0 for your next cycle (2030–35), setting new targets from 2028 for lead time.
  • Several V2 innovations already apply to V1 — adopt what helps in the meantime.
  • Start building the V2 muscles now: implementation hierarchy evidence, barrier documentation, and (Category A) assurance.
If you don't hold targets yet

Build on V2 from the start

  • Setting before end-2027? You may use V1 for this cycle, then move to V2 next — useful for V1 flexibilities.
  • From 1 Feb 2027, a single “SBTi Commitment” expresses intent if you're not ready to set.
  • Determine your Category (A or B) first — it sets what's mandatory.
  • Anchor on near-term, five-year, scope-separated targets; treat net-zero as a deliberate later choice.
3 · What to do next

Three moves that apply to almost everyone.

Confirm your category and re-baseline. Run the consolidated size, geography and emissions tests to fix Category A or B, and rebuild your inventory to V2 rules (no exclusions; location-based scope 2; FLAG, bioenergy and removals reported separately).
Map methods to scopes, and stress-test delivery. Pick a method per scope (and per significant scope-3 category at ≥5%), then walk the implementation hierarchy — where will you genuinely be constrained, and what barriers will you need to evidence?
Decide your beyond-inventory posture. Choose whether to enter the OER programme and at which level, knowing the value is recognition and claim rights — and that a Category A removals duty begins in 2035. Build assurance-ready reporting now.
Reliability & sources

Confidence: High on the valuation logic and the holder/non-holder paths — both drawn directly from the V2.0 claims provisions (C37.10), Chapter 6, and the Transition Guide. The timing of next steps assumes the published effective dates hold. The minimum-progress bar referenced under Governance remains provisional pending the SBTi Assurance Manual. This is general guidance, not legal or assurance advice; validate category and method choices through the SBTi tools and an accredited body before submission.

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