On June 11, 2026, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) published version 2.0 of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard — and the standard that used to be a seal of ambition became a delivery mechanism. The central question is no longer "is your target ambitious enough?" but "can your company prove it is delivering?". V2.0 reorganizes the entire way net-zero targets are set, tracked and enforced: a base year updated every cycle, a clear priority order for reduction actions, mandatory annual reporting and a formal assessment every five years. One detail surprises many managers — the net-zero target itself is now optional, while short-term targets for Scopes 1 and 2 have become mandatory for every company.
The most significant change for Brazil is the split into two categories, defined first by size and only then by geography. Large companies from any country — with net revenue at or above €450 million, or 1,000 or more employees — fall into Category A, with the full package: mandatory Scope 3 targets, external assurance of base-year data and public disclosure of the transition plan. Mid-sized Brazilian companies, benefiting from the country's upper-middle-income classification, fall into Category B, with lower minimum requirements — but the reduction targets remain aligned with 1.5°C, with no loosening of the science. And there is an inevitable link between the two worlds: the large Category A companies, required to cover Scope 3, will demand real data and their own targets from suppliers, most of them mid-sized Category B companies.
The calendar defines the strategy. Version 1 of the standard remains open for submitting new targets until the end of 2027; from 2028 onward, all new submissions must follow V2.0. Companies that already have targets approved for 2030 should start building the next cycle (2030–2035) under the new standard as early as 2028 to allow time for implementation. Along with the calendar come two governance requirements that raise the bar for management: the transition plan — a roadmap of initiatives, dependencies, owners and deadlines, with mandatory disclosure for Category A — and the OER (ongoing emissions responsibility). From 2035, Category A companies must support carbon removals equivalent to at least 1% of their ongoing emissions, with a growing share of long-duration removals up to the net-zero year.
For companies that already treat sustainability as management data, V2.0 is a confirmation of course — not a threat. For the others, the starting point remains the same: a reliable emissions inventory, with data traceable by scope, category and unit. The logic is direct: without an organized inventory there is no target; without a target there is no transition plan; and without a transition plan there is no compliance with V2.0. Climoo organizes this process end to end, from data collection to the official report, in an integrated platform for GHG inventories, decarbonization plans and SBTi targets — with specialists certified by the SBTi itself to guide every step.
