— SBTi support

SBTi target validation, from baseline to approved

Commit, calculate, and validate with confidence.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is the gold standard for corporate climate ambition — and the most technically demanding validation process in sustainability. Greenplaces delivers full-service SBTi support: carbon accounting, target development, submission management, and decarbonization strategy, designed to achieve validation on your first attempt.

About SBTi

The gold standard for corporate climate targets

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute, and WWF. It defines and promotes best practices in emissions reductions and net-zero targets in line with climate science — giving companies a clearly defined path to reduce emissions aligned with the Paris Agreement.

The procurement prerequisite

Major corporations and financial institutions increasingly require SBTi-validated targets as a prerequisite for doing business or securing green financing. Validation is becoming table stakes for enterprise supply chains.

Science-backed credibility

Having a validated target proves to investors and customers that your sustainability claims are backed by rigorous science — not marketing language. It distinguishes commitment from ambition.

CDP score integration

SBTi-validated targets map directly into your CDP response, materially improving your Leadership score — and making both disclosures more efficient to manage year over year.

The SBTi process

Five steps from commitment to validated target

Companies follow a structured five-step process to reach SBTi validation. Greenplaces manages the technical complexity at every stage so your team can focus on operations, not bureaucracy.

❶

Commit

Submit intent letter
Establish your public commitment to set science-based targets. Starts the 24-month submission window.

❷

Develop

Calculate and model targets
Calculate your Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions footprint and develop reduction targets aligned with SBTi criteria.

❸

Submit

Present for validation
Submit your targets, technical documentation, and supporting evidence for official SBTi technical review (~60 business days).

❹

Communicate

Announce to stakeholders
Publish your validated science-based targets publicly and integrate them into client, investor, and RFP communications.

❺

Disclose

Report emissions annually
Track and disclose company-wide emissions annually to demonstrate progress against your validated targets.

Target types and timelines

Which pathway is right for your organization?

SBTi evaluates targets based on alignment with a 1.5-degree pathway. Companies navigate different pathways based on size and sector. Greenplaces assesses your situation and builds the right model from day one.

Near-term targets

5–10 year emission reduction targets
Near-term science-based targets provide the immediate decarbonization pathway — defining how much your company must reduce emissions over the next decade to stay aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Long-term net-zero targets

At least 90% reduction by 2050
Net-zero targets require reducing emissions by at least 90% no later than 2050, with any residual emissions neutralized. These targets define your company’s long-term commitment to climate science.

SME pathway

Streamlined process for smaller companies
The SME pathway offers simplified requirements for small and medium-sized enterprises that meet SBTi size criteria — reducing the technical burden while maintaining scientific rigor.

Standard pathway

Large enterprise — deep Scope 3 engagement
The standard pathway requires deep Scope 3 boundary setting and detailed sector-specific modeling. Greenplaces manages the full technical build and manages all SBTi reviewer queries on your behalf.

24 months

Commitment period — window to submit targets after your commitment date

~60 business days

Validation lead time — typical SBTi technical review once submitted

Every 5 years

Target recalculation — targets must be reviewed and revalidated to maintain alignment

A different approach to SBTi

We don’t advise. We do.

The SBTi criteria have become increasingly stringent. Most teams struggle not with ambition, but with execution — navigating the boundary requirements, Scope 3 complexity, and submission process that SBTi demands. Greenplaces delivers true white-glove support designed for execution, not theory.

Common SBTi challenges we solve
Defining the boundary

Ensuring Scope 1, 2, and 3 inventories meet the SBTi emissions coverage requirement — including which Scope 3 categories must be included.

Scope 3 target development

Understanding when absolute, intensity, or supplier engagement targets can be applied — and building the evidence to defend each choice to reviewers.

Navigating technical documentation

Completing the complex SBTi submission forms, technical supplements, and portal input requirements without errors that delay validation.

Managing reviewer queries

Responding accurately to “Queries” from SBTi technical reviewers during the validation phase — a stage where inexperienced teams often stall.

How Greenplaces delivers
Carbon accounting experts build your baseline

Our team performs the full inventory and ensures it is audit-ready for SBTi technical reviewers — covering Scope 1, 2, and all relevant Scope 3 categories.

Strategic modeling across reduction scenarios

We build SBTi-aligned pathways and model multiple reduction scenarios to ensure your target is both ambitious and achievable given your operational reality.

End-to-end submission management

We complete the complex submission forms, upload all supporting evidence, and act as your technical point of contact throughout the review — including responding to reviewer queries on your behalf.

First-attempt validation focus

Our advisory services are structured to achieve successful validation on the first submission — not to run you through a billable back-and-forth revision cycle.

Beyond SBTi validation

Supporting the work before and after the validated target

SBTi validation is often the North Star of a climate strategy. But a validated target is only as valuable as the strategy behind it. Greenplaces supports the full decarbonization journey — before the commitment and long after the validation letter arrives.

01   Decarbonization strategy

Turning a validated target into a concrete project list — identifying the specific reductions, investments, and operational changes that will actually move your emissions number.

02   Supplier engagement programs

Tackling Scope 3 emissions by onboarding your supply chain into the climate reporting ecosystem — the engagement model SBTi increasingly requires for large enterprises.

03   RFP and client alignment

Ensuring your validated science-based targets satisfy customer requirements for supplier climate commitments — and translating your SBTi status into clear RFP responses.

04   CDP integration

Mapping your SBTi targets directly into your CDP reporting response — maximizing your Leadership score and eliminating duplicate data collection across both disclosures.

Frequently asked questions

SBTi validation — what you need to know

SBTi target validation is the formal process by which the Science Based Targets initiative reviews and approves a company’s emission reduction targets as aligned with the Paris Agreement. It requires submitting Scope 1, 2, and 3 inventory data, target calculations, and technical documentation for review by SBTi staff. Over 9,000 companies globally have committed to or set science-based targets — and SBTi validation is now a prerequisite for many major enterprise procurement programs.

Once submitted, the SBTi technical review typically takes approximately 60 business days, though this varies based on queue and target complexity. Companies have 24 months from their commitment date to submit targets for validation. Targets must also be reviewed and, if necessary, revalidated every five years to ensure alignment with the latest SBTi criteria.

Near-term targets are 5–10 year emission reduction goals that define your company’s immediate decarbonization pathway. Net-zero targets require reducing emissions by at least 90% no later than 2050, with any residual emissions neutralized. Both must align with a 1.5-degree pathway. Most companies pursue both simultaneously, with near-term targets setting the pace and long-term net-zero targets defining the endpoint.

Yes. Greenplaces provides complete submission management — our team completes the technical forms, uploads all supporting evidence, and acts as your technical point of contact throughout the review process, including responding to queries from SBTi reviewers. You review and approve; we handle the bureaucracy.

SBTi requires that Scope 3 emissions are included in targets when they represent 40% or more of a company’s total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. The approach — whether absolute, intensity-based, or supplier engagement targets — depends on your sector and Scope 3 category makeup. Greenplaces assesses your specific situation and recommends the right target structure from the start.

SBTi-validated targets map directly into your CDP reporting response and materially improve your CDP Leadership score. Greenplaces integrates both workstreams — aligning your SBTi target development with your CDP disclosure so the data collection, inventory, and reporting work flows into both frameworks without duplication.

Commit, calculate, and validate with confidence

Ready to future-proof your business?

Setting a science-based target is a bold public commitment. The right partner ensures that commitment is defensible, scientifically rigorous, and validated on the first attempt. Talk to a Greenplaces expert about your SBTi timeline.