Standard bonanza for carbon removal: SBTi v2 and ISO 14060 explained
In one week, both SBTi and ISO made permanent carbon removal a requirement. For sustainability managers, the question is no longer whether to act, but how soon.
Two standards, one direction
On June 11, SBTi released Version 2.0 of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard. On June 17, ISO launched the public consultation for ISO/DIS 14060, the first internationally certifiable net zero standard for organizations. The timing was not planned as a joint announcement, but the message is the same: permanent carbon removal is no longer a future consideration. It is a requirement.
When the world's leading corporate climate validation body and the international standards organization agree, in the same week, that carbon removal must be part of the solution, it stops being a matter of preference. Sustainability managers who are not yet building a removal strategy should start now, before the standards leave them behind.
ISO/DIS 14060: Net zero aligned organizations
ISO/DIS 14060, titled "Net Zero Aligned Organizations," is a draft requirements standard from ISO. Once published (expected late 2026 or 2027), it will be the first net zero standard organizations can seek independent third-party certification against. It replaces IWA 42, the ISO Net Zero Guidelines from COP27 2022, which were principles-based and had no certification mechanism.
ISO/DIS 14060 applies to organizations of any type, from corporations to NGOs, across all sectors and geographies, so it cannot prescribe a single path. What it is not flexible on is the endpoint: residual emissions must be counterbalanced with high-quality, durable carbon removals. Avoidance credits do not count at the final neutralization line.
Removals must track a company’s trajectory to net zero, in line with interim reduction targets, with the first milestone no later than five years after setting certified targets. ISO also requires companies to disclose residual emissions as a separate carbon removal target, and states that carbon removal is integral to an organization's net zero strategy, not an add-on.
ISO/DIS 14060 is the standard you will eventually need to certify against. It is still in draft, so it is not actionable today. The time to engage is during the public consultation, which closes early September 2026.
SBTi V2.0: The voluntary action standard for companies
SBTi V2.0 is live now. It carries weight with investors, regulators, and customers that no other corporate climate framework currently matches. More than 11,000 companies have set targets under SBTi. Version 2.0 makes one structural change sustainability managers need to understand: carbon removal is no longer optional for large companies. It has a date, a volume, and an escalation path.
2035: the carbon removal deadline most companies are not ready for
SBTi V2.0 introduces the Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) framework. The intention is to make it mandatory from 2035 for Category A companies, which includes large companies from all countries and medium-sized companies from high-income countries. The requirement: begin procuring carbon removal for at least 1% of your total Scope 1, 2 and 3 ongoing emissions.
One percent sounds small. It is not. For a company with 500,000 tonnes of Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, that is 5,000 tonnes of carbon removal needed, on delivery, verified, in 2035. And this is just the starting point.
The supply side of this market is still developing. Northern Lights, currently the world's only operating commercial transport and geological CO2 storage infrastructure, has finite capacity. Direct air capture projects have long lead times. Biomethane-based removal projects, the category Inherit operates in, are scaling but not at a pace that will easily absorb the demand spike that 2035 will create if companies wait.
The companies that sign multi-year removal agreements now, before demand spikes as 2035 approaches, will secure better commercial terms, higher-quality supply, and stronger relationships with removal providers. The companies that wait until the obligation is imminent will find themselves competing for limited supply from lower-quality projects at elevated prices.
2035 is not a policy date. It is a procurement deadline. The lead time to sourcing carbon removal on good terms is measured in years, not months.
From 1% to 100%: the removal ramp
The 2035 obligation is not a one-time purchase. It is the start of a linear escalation that runs from 1% of ongoing Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in 2035 to 100% of residual emissions at the net zero target year (no later than 2050).
SBTi V2.0 also specifies the quality of removals required. Of the portion categorized as long-lived GHG residuals, at least 10% must come from long-lived removals in 2035 (geological storage or equivalent permanence). This share also scales to 100% at net zero.
2035 | ~2038 | ~2043 | Net zero year |
|---|---|---|---|
1% of ongoing emissions | ~25% of ongoing emissions | ~50% of ongoing emissions | 100% of residual emissions |
Note: interim percentages are illustrative based on the linear ramp from 1% in 2035 to 100% at the net zero year. Actual obligations depend on each company's declared net zero target year.
Three levels of recognition: The SBTi OER tiers explained
SBTi V2.0 introduces three OER recognition levels that companies can voluntarily adopt starting today, ahead of the 2035 mandate. Each tier has different volume requirements, compliance options, and implications for internal carbon pricing. The tiers are about more than disclosure. They shape how sustainability managers structure internal budgets and climate governance.
OER RECOGNITION | ENGAGED | ADVANCED | LEADERSHIP |
|---|---|---|---|
VOLUME | 1% of Scopes 1, 2 and 3 | 10% of Scopes 1, 2 and 3 (incl. 100% of Scopes 1 and 2) | 100% of Scopes 1, 2 and 3 |
COMPLIANCE OPTIONS | Internal carbon price min. $20/tCO2 (recommended) + invest in eligible measures OR retire credits equal to 1% of emissions | Internal carbon price min. $20/tCO2 (required) + invest in eligible measures OR retire credits equal to 10% of emissions | Internal carbon price min. $80/tCO2 (required) + invest in eligible measures AND fund must cover credits for 100% of ongoing emissions |
INTERNAL CARBON PRICING | A price signal that begins to influence investment decisions. Unlikely to shift capital allocation on its own. | $20/tCO2 now required. Full Scope 1 and 2 coverage drives real supply relationships. | At $80/tCO2, carbon becomes a material cost in capex, pricing and supplier decisions. |
The price thresholds are not arbitrary. The jump from $20 to $80/tCO2 at the Leadership tier is where carbon stops being a reporting line and becomes a factor in major capital decisions. How you build, what you source, and how you price products all change when carbon carries that cost internally.
What sustainability managers should do now
Validate an SBTi target. If you do not have a validated target, the mandatory removal phase will arrive before you have the infrastructure in place to meet it. A validated target forces you to plan procurement.
Choose an OER tier and start now. Voluntary participation before 2035 builds the supplier relationships and internal processes you will need when the obligation is mandatory. Early movers also benefit from better supply terms as the removal market scales.
Set an internal carbon price that matches your tier. The OER tiers have minimum price thresholds for a reason: carbon removal is not free, and an internal price creates the budget to fund it. Without a price signal inside the business, removal procurement will always lose to competing priorities.
Prioritize permanent, verified removal. Both SBTi V2.0 and ISO/DIS 14060 specify that only high-quality, durable removals count at the net zero line. Geologic storage, enhanced weathering, and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage all qualify. Shorter term carbon removal and avoidance credits do not.
Follow the ISO/DIS 14060 consultation. The 12-week public consultation closes early September 2026. Organizations that engage now help shape the certification requirements they will eventually need to meet.
The window for building removal supply on favorable terms is open now. It will begin to close as 2035 approaches, when every Category A company in the world is looking for the same thing at the same time.