Science Based Targets Initiative Net Zero Planning Training Course

Course overview

Companies facing investor, customer and procurement scrutiny need emissions targets that can withstand formal review, not broad carbon-reduction statements. Sustainability teams must translate greenhouse-gas inventories into a defensible Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) submission pathway, decide which entities and emissions sources belong within the target boundary, and secure data and ownership from finance, operations, procurement and leadership. Errors in baseline selection, Scope 3 screening, target wording or governance can delay validation and weaken transition planning.

This five-day course teaches participants how to build an SBTi-aligned near-term and net-zero target plan using the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard, relevant target-setting criteria and the GHG Protocol. Participants learn to assess organisational eligibility; set consolidation boundaries and a base year; interpret Scope 1, 2 and 3 requirements; screen Scope 3 categories; select absolute or intensity target approaches; calculate target pathways; define residual emissions and removals; and prepare evidence for internal approval and target validation.

Instruction combines expert-led explanation with calculation workshops, critique of sample inventories, target-design case studies and structured peer review. Participants work through a realistic company scenario and leave with an SBTi Net-Zero Planning Pack: a boundary and base-year decision log, emissions-data gap register, draft near-term and long-term target architecture, Scope 3 engagement plan, governance RACI and 12-month validation-readiness roadmap. This is suitable for professionals responsible for emissions reporting, climate strategy or decarbonisation programmes who need to move from inventory data to an actionable SBTi submission plan.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Assess corporate eligibility and target-boundary implications against SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard requirements
• Define a defensible organisational boundary, base year and recalculation policy for an SBTi target programme
• Map Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions to the GHG Protocol and identify material data gaps
• Screen Scope 3 categories and prioritise value-chain emissions for target-setting and supplier engagement
• Select an appropriate absolute or intensity target method and construct a draft emissions-reduction pathway
• Draft aligned near-term and long-term net-zero targets using compliant target language and milestones
• Develop a residual-emissions and carbon-removals position consistent with the net-zero target framework
• Produce an SBTi Net-Zero Planning Pack with governance, evidence, risks and a validation-readiness roadmap

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Sustainability Managers — who must convert corporate climate commitments into a validated target-setting plan
• ESG Reporting Managers — who need traceable links between GHG disclosures, target boundaries and reported progress
• Climate Strategy Leads — who design decarbonisation pathways and require an SBTi-aligned decision framework
• Environment and Energy Managers — who own operational emissions data and site-level reduction initiatives
• Procurement and Supply Chain Managers — who need to address Scope 3 emissions through supplier data and engagement
• Corporate Responsibility Directors — who advise executives on credible net-zero commitments, governance and risk

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand the basic purpose of a corporate greenhouse-gas inventory and be familiar with the terms Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3. Experience reviewing sustainability reports, energy data, procurement spend or emissions calculations is helpful, but not essential. Participants should be comfortable working with simple spreadsheets, including filters, formulas and percentage calculations, because exercises use Excel-based emissions data. No prior SBTi submission experience, carbon-accounting qualification, lifecycle-assessment expertise or specialist carbon-accounting software is required. Complete beginners should expect to spend time practising core inventory, boundary and target-setting concepts before applying them to cases.

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor-led briefings to explain SBTi rules, followed by spreadsheet-based workshops using a simulated multinational company inventory. Participants test organisational boundaries, classify Scope 3 categories, compare target-design choices and calculate indicative pathways in Excel. Facilitated case discussions examine common validation issues, including acquisitions, poor supplier data and mismatched target claims. Small groups review each other’s draft target rationale against an evidence checklist. The final session is an application-planning workshop in which each participant adapts the planning pack to their own organisation.

Course outline

Day 1: SBTi foundations, eligibility and emissions boundaries

• Purpose and architecture of the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard
• Near-term targets, long-term targets and net-zero claims
• Corporate eligibility and the target-validation journey
• GHG Protocol equity-share and control consolidation approaches
• Organisational boundary decisions for subsidiaries, joint ventures and franchises
• Base-year selection, data quality and recalculation policy triggers
• Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 inventory mapping

Workshop: Participants analyse a corporate structure case and produce a boundary, base-year and recalculation decision log.

Day 2: Building a near-term science-based target

• SBTi near-term target criteria and target-boundary coverage
• Absolute contraction and intensity-convergence target approaches
• Scope 2 location-based and market-based accounting treatment
• Activity data, emission factors and inventory quality checks
• Target-year selection and interim milestone design
• Excel emissions-baseline normalisation and pathway calculations
• Compliant target wording and internal target rationale

Workshop: Participants calculate and document a draft near-term Scope 1 and 2 target pathway from a supplied emissions dataset.

Day 3: Long-term net-zero design and transition logic

• Long-term reduction thresholds and net-zero target architecture
• Decarbonisation levers for energy, fleet, process emissions and purchased electricity
• Marginal abatement thinking and initiative prioritisation
• Residual emissions definition and the role of carbon removals
• Separating value-chain emissions reductions from neutralisation claims
• Transition-plan assumptions, dependencies and implementation risks
• Linking target pathways to capital planning and operational ownership

Workshop: Participants build a long-term target narrative and abatement-lever map that identifies residual-emissions assumptions.

Day 4: Scope 3 screening and value-chain engagement

• GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories and category-screening methods
• Spend-based, activity-based and supplier-specific data approaches
• Materiality assessment and Scope 3 target-boundary decisions
• Purchased goods and services supplier-data collection design
• Supplier engagement targets and procurement levers
• Use-phase, end-of-life and financed-emissions considerations
• Scope 3 data-gap registers and assurance-ready evidence trails

Workshop: Participants complete a Scope 3 screening matrix and produce a supplier-engagement priority plan for the case company.

Day 5: Validation readiness, governance and implementation planning

• SBTi submission inputs, review questions and evidence requirements
• Target validation protocol checks and common submission weaknesses
• Governance RACI for inventory owners, target approvers and programme leads
• Controls for data changes, acquisitions and target recalculation events
• Progress tracking against near-term and long-term target pathways
• External target communications and claim-control procedures
• Twelve-month SBTi validation-readiness roadmap

Workshop: Participants assemble and present an SBTi Net-Zero Planning Pack containing target logic, evidence gaps, governance and next actions.

Tools & standards covered

SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard, SBTi Near-Term Criteria, GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, Microsoft Excel

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions