SBTi opens call for evidence on use of environmental-attribute certificates in climate targets

Photo: SBTi

The Science Based Targets initiative opened a call for evidence Sept. 21 on the effectiveness of the use of environmental-attribute certificates in corporate climate targets.

The aim is to help the corporate climate-action ecosystem understand whether different instruments can credibly drive decarbonization and support corporate emission-reduction claims.

All stakeholders are invited to submit their evidence for review by SBTi.

The call is open for nine weeks between Sept. 21 to Nov. 24.

A timeline for the next steps and all the evidence submitted through this process will be made publicly available on the SBTi website.

“There are different opinions about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of various environmental-attribute certificates in driving impact when incorporated into corporate climate targets,” said Alberto Carrillo Pineda, SBTi’s chief technical officer. “As a science-based organization, we firmly believe that the use of these instruments must be grounded in robust and objective evidence. In pursuit of this goal, the SBTi is initiating a call to collect, synthesize and analyze the available evidence on this subject.”

The call for evidence is part of research by SBTi into how companies achieve their targets and the parameters that should be considered for robust reporting of target progress, delivery and achievement.

This research is for investigative purposes, and any updates to SBTi standards are subject to thorough consideration and approval in line with SBTi’s governance.

Under this call for evidence, SBTi defines environmental-attribute certificates as instruments used to quantify, verify and track the environmental benefits associated with commodities, activities or projects.

It includes instruments that may be potentially eligible in scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions-abatement targets, such as emission-reduction credits and energy-attribute certificates.

It does not include instruments that may be used as part of neutralization targets or beyond value-chain mitigation (BVCM) claims (e.g., removal credits).

These important topics will be explored in other work streams.

More details on the call for evidence including key definitions, types of evidence sought and how to submit are available on the SBTi website.