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

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/sbti-scope-1-2-exclusions-5-percent

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?

- Reported Scope 1+2: 4,750 t CO2e
- Excluded from the inventory: canteen LPG 40 t + office refrigerants 160 t = 200 t
- Total: 4,750 + 200 = 4,950 t; 95% of that is 4,702.5 t
- Target covers all 4,750 t reported: 4,750 is above 4,702.5, so it passes
- Leave a 150 t warehouse out of the target as well: 4,600 t is below 4,702.5, so it fails

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.

- [Get your carbon number](https://senseible.earth/msme-carbon-number)
- [Can we exclude a Scope 3 category?](https://senseible.earth/answers/can-we-exclude-a-scope-3-category)
- [When SBTi requires a Scope 3 target](https://senseible.earth/answers/when-is-a-scope-3-target-required-sbti)
- [SBTi V2: Scope 3 emissions you may exclude](https://senseible.earth/answers/sbti-v2-scope-3-target-exclusions)

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](https://files.sciencebasedtargets.org/production/files/SBTi-criteria.pdf)

Last reviewed 2026-11-01.