Senseible

How much of our scope 1 and 2 emissions can we leave out of an SBTi target?

No more than 5% of combined Scope 1 and 2, under C5 of the SBTi Corporate Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1. The target must cover at least 95% of reported plus excluded emissions, so you cannot drop 5% from the inventory and another 5% from the target. Small sources must still be reported.

The 95% test

  1. Add the Scope 1 and 2 you report to the Scope 1 and 2 you left out of the inventory.
  2. Multiply by 0.95.
  3. The emissions inside your target must be at least that figure.

"Negligible" is not a reason

Footnote 9 says SBTi does not accept emissions seen as negligible as a reason not to report them. A canteen LPG cylinder, a backup generator at a sales office or refrigerant topped up in office ACs still has to be quantified, or disclosed as an exclusion.

When one scope is tiny

If Scope 1 or Scope 2 is under 5% of the two combined, footnote 8 lets you set the target on the other scope alone. You must still report both and adjust the target if the small one grows. A garment unit that runs almost entirely on grid power, with a little diesel, is the typical case.

Scope 3 has its own cap

Separately, no more than 5% of your total Scope 3 inventory may be excluded, and Scope 3 targets must cover at least 67% of reported plus excluded Scope 3 (C6).

Example: does the boundary pass?

Example company.

What Senseible does here

Senseible lists every fuel and electricity line with its tonnes, so small sources such as a canteen LPG bill or a backup generator show up and can be counted before you decide what to exclude. It does not set, submit or validate SBTi targets; SBTi Services validates them.

Sources: SBTi, Corporate Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1 (final, April 2026, in effect from 14 April 2026): C5, C6 and footnotes 7 to 9

Last reviewed 2026-11-01.