Under SBTi V2, which scope 3 emissions may a company leave out of its targets?

SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0, C14.2, lets a company leave out of its near-term Scope 3 targets second-hand goods, all employee commuting, and some fuel and energy, leased asset, downstream transport, processing and franchise emissions. Each exclusion needs its condition, tonnes, share of Scope 3 and a mitigation plan.

Start with what must be covered

Near-term targets must cover every Scope 3 category that is 5% or more of categories 1 to 14 (C14.1). The exclusions below apply even inside those categories. This replaces the version 1 rule of covering at least 67% of Scope 3.

The optional exclusions (C14.2)

• Categories 1 and 2: cradle-to-gate emissions of second-hand goods.
• Category 3: fuel and energy emissions already tackled by cutting energy use under Scope 1 or 2 targets, unless a sector standard requires them.
• Category 7: employee commuting, the whole category.
• Category 8: leased assets you do not control and cannot influence through energy buying, fit-out or operations.
• Category 9: outbound transport where you cannot influence fuel, route or mode.
• Category 10: processing of sold products where the steps are unknown or you have no contract with the processor.
• Category 14: franchises run as independent businesses, or franchisees that lease space and do not control energy use.

What each exclusion must carry (C14.3)

1. The condition used and why it applies to you.
2. The excluded tonnes, and their share of categories 1 to 14.
3. What you will do to cut those emissions anyway.

What it means for an Indian supplier

If your customer collects goods ex-works with its own transporter, it cannot use the category 9 exclusion for that freight, but you might for yours. If you sell yarn or castings through traders and do not know the processor, category 10 may be excluded. Either way, the tonnes are still reported.

Example: a 20,000 t Scope 3 inventory

• Category 1: 14,000 t (70%); category 4: 2,400 t (12%); category 10: 1,500 t (7.5%); category 9: 1,200 t (6%); category 7: 900 t (4.5%)
• Significant (5% or more): categories 1, 4, 9 and 10
• Category 9 freight is arranged by customers: may exclude 1,200 t (6%)
• Category 10 processors are unknown: may exclude 1,500 t (7.5%)
• Target covers 14,000 + 2,400 = 16,400 t, which is 82% of categories 1 to 14

Example company. Category 7 is under 5%, so it was outside the required boundary anyway.

What Senseible does here

Senseible keeps Scope 3 lines from purchase invoices and freight records in a supplier evidence trail, which helps put tonnes against each category before deciding what to exclude. It does not set, validate or assure SBTi targets.

• Can we exclude a Scope 3 category?
• SBTi Net-Zero Standard V2: supplier impact
• SBTi Scope 1 and 2 exclusions
• Scope 3 supplier evidence

Sources: SBTi, Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0, Criteria (final, released June 2026, effective 1 February 2027): C5.7, C14 and footnotes 21, 22, SBTi, Corporate Near-Term Criteria V5.3.1 (final, April 2026, in effect from 14 April 2026): C6

Last reviewed 2026-11-01.