← Back to Teaching Sustainability
Mike Smith
October 12, 2026
Welcome back to Teaching Sustainability, Aclymate’s weekly series created to help small and mid-sized business leaders understand what sustainability means, why it matters, and what to do next.
Earlier in this series, we explained science-based targets and reduction goals—what they are, why companies set them, and how a credible emissions-reduction target is built.
More recently, we looked at why SBTi requirements can affect suppliers even when those suppliers have never made their own science-based target commitment.
So this week, I want to answer a different question:
What if your company actually decides it wants SBTi validation?
What are you signing up for?
The biggest mistake is thinking the process begins by picking an ambitious target.
It doesn’t.
It starts with readiness.
The Science Based Targets initiative provides the standards companies use to develop science-based emissions-reduction targets. SBTi Services is the separate organization that assesses and validates those targets.
The official process includes registration, target development, submission, communication, and ongoing disclosure. For corporations, making a public commitment before submitting targets is optional; companies can proceed directly toward validation if they are ready. SMEs do not use the separate commitment step.
You can review SBTi’s current process in its guide to setting science-based targets.
That distinction matters.
You don't need to make a public pledge and then figure everything out afterward.
In fact, I generally think companies should do the opposite.
Figure out whether you're ready before you make the commitment.
One of the first things companies should determine is whether they qualify for SBTi's SME validation route or need to follow the corporate route.
SBTi's definition of an SME is more specific than simply saying "we're a small company."
Among other requirements, a company must have less than 10,000 metric tons of Scope 1 and location-based Scope 2 emissions, not fall into certain excluded sectors or circumstances, and meet at least three of four additional criteria involving employee count, revenue, assets, and FLAG-sector status.
You can review the current SBTi SME eligibility criteria.
Why figure this out first?
Because the route affects the process, target requirements, and cost.
For many of the mid-sized businesses we work with, this is the first question worth answering.
You do not need perfect carbon data before you begin thinking about SBTi.
But you do need a foundation.
SBTi says companies should prepare a greenhouse gas inventory before developing their targets, using the GHG Protocol as the accounting framework.
The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard provides the widely used framework for creating that corporate emissions inventory.
Practically, this means understanding things like your organizational boundaries, facilities, energy use, fuel consumption, purchasing activity, supplier spend, transportation, travel, and other material emissions sources.
The challenge isn't usually finding one giant carbon spreadsheet sitting somewhere in the company.
The information is scattered.
Finance has some of it.
Operations has some.
Procurement has some.
HR may have some.
Utilities and vendors have more.
Before registering for SBTi, ask a simple question:
Can we realistically assemble and maintain the emissions information this process will require?
If the answer is "not yet," that's useful to know.
That's the work to start with.
This is one of the most important lessons from the work we've done with companies.
Don't give SBTi to one employee and assume they can make the rest of the organization cooperate.
In the Proof Over Promises presentation, I outlined the people that usually need to participate: an executive sponsor, one accountable day-to-day owner, finance and procurement, communications, potentially an outside carbon-accounting partner, and eventually suppliers. SBTi Presentation
The day-to-day owner does not necessarily need to work on sustainability full time.
But someone needs to own the outcome.
Just as importantly, that person needs an executive sponsor who can get other parts of the business moving.
Because eventually someone is going to need purchasing data.
Someone will need supplier information.
Someone may need utility bills or facility records.
Someone will need to approve the target.
And someone may need to explain why a supplier now has to answer a sustainability questionnaire.
The most common failure mode isn't bad climate science.
It's organizational friction.
At Proof Over Promises, I suggested five decisions companies should make before starting the process:
Estimate your approximate Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions so you understand which route may apply. Define the organizational boundary the target will cover. Name an accountable internal owner. Get executive agreement that the company is prepared to commit resources. And decide whether the emissions inventory and technical work will be handled internally or with outside support. SBTi Presentation
That is still the readiness conversation I would have with a leadership team.
Notice what isn't on that list:
Announce a target.
The announcement should come later.
First make sure the business can support the work behind it.
There are two costs to think about.
The first is the fee charged by SBTi Services for target validation.
The second is what your organization spends actually getting ready.
Current SBTi Services pricing is tiered by organization type and annual turnover. SME near-term validation is currently $1,250 or $2,000 depending on the applicable revenue tier. For companies using the corporate route, near-term validation currently ranges from $13,000 to $26,000 before applicable discounts. Combined near-term and net-zero packages carry separate pricing.
SBTi Services maintains the current target-validation service and pricing schedule.
Those numbers are worth knowing.
But the validation fee isn't necessarily the largest cost.
The bigger commitment may be the work required to prepare and manage:
Carbon accounting. Data gathering. Employee time. Supplier engagement. Target modeling. Sustainability expertise. Program management. And annual measurement afterward.
That is why I wouldn't frame the decision as:
"Can we afford the SBTi fee?"
I'd ask:
"Are we prepared to operate the sustainability program that sits behind the target?"
This is another place where expectations matter.
SBTi says companies that choose to make a formal commitment receive a 24-month window to submit targets. Companies that are already prepared can skip the commitment and submit targets directly. After targets are submitted, SBTi says an assessment is usually completed within approximately 12 weeks.
But that's the validation portion.
It isn't necessarily your project timeline.
The work before submission can take much longer.
If your emissions data is already organized, your organizational boundary is clear, management is aligned, and you have the right resources, you may be well positioned.
If you're starting with spreadsheets scattered across five departments and nobody knows who owns Scope 3, that's a different project.
In my event presentation, I encouraged companies to think in terms of a broader multi-month readiness and validation process rather than just the formal review window.
The biggest variable isn't usually SBTi.
It's how ready the company is before submission.
Once you're ready, the mechanics become much easier to understand.
You register through the SBTi Services Validation Portal. Your company classification and eligibility are determined. You develop your targets using the applicable standards. You submit your target and supporting information. SBTi Services performs its technical assessment and may ask questions. Once validated, you communicate the target and then disclose progress over time.
SBTi Services provides a useful beginner's guide to target validation for companies preparing to enter the process.
The important operational point is this:
Your numbers need to be explainable.
Where did the emissions data come from?
What methodology did you use?
What entities are included?
What assumptions did you make?
Can you reproduce the calculation?
Good carbon accounting isn't simply generating a number.
It's being able to explain the number.
This is probably the point I would emphasize most to an executive team.
Getting the target validated is not the finish line.
SBTi's process includes annual disclosure of progress toward science-based targets.
In my Proof Over Promises presentation, I described post-validation as the start of an ongoing obligation: communicate accurately, begin annual emissions tracking and disclosure, periodically review the target, and potentially begin engaging your own suppliers as your program matures.
Think about what that means inside the business.
Next year you need another footprint.
Then another.
You need consistency from year to year.
You need to understand why emissions changed.
You need to track progress against the target.
You need to manage reduction initiatives.
You may need supplier data.
You may need supporting evidence for customers.
That's why sustainability eventually stops being an annual reporting exercise.
It becomes a management process.
SBTi does not require you to buy carbon-accounting software.
That's important to say clearly.
You can use spreadsheets.
You can hire a consultant.
You can build your own process.
But whatever approach you choose, you need a system.
A system for collecting data.
A system for documenting assumptions.
A system for repeating the calculations.
A system for tracking progress.
A system for responding to customers.
And a system for keeping the work moving when the person who originally built the spreadsheet changes jobs.
That's the bigger issue.
If you're just beginning to understand your emissions, Aclymate Explorer gives companies a free way to estimate Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions and identify data gaps.
If your company is ready for recurring accounting, reporting, supplier data, and program management, Aclymate Navigator provides a system for managing that work over time.
Aclymate helps companies build the operating system underneath sustainability commitments.
You can start with a directional footprint in Explorer, move into recurring carbon accounting and reporting with Navigator, and add expert support when your internal team needs help doing the work.
For companies pursuing something like SBTi, the value isn't simply calculating an emissions number once.
It's creating a repeatable process for measuring emissions, organizing data, managing suppliers, tracking initiatives, preparing reports, and proving progress year after year.
That's what sustainability management is really about.
SBTi can provide a credible framework for corporate climate action.
But don't begin with the public commitment.
Begin with five practical questions:
Which pathway applies to us?
Do we have the data?
Who owns the work?
Are we prepared for the cost and time?
Can we manage this every year after validation?
If those answers are clear, you're in a much better position to move forward.
If they aren't, that's okay.
You now know what to work on.
The smartest first step toward an SBTi target may be deciding whether your company is ready to support one.
Get Aclymate's practical sustainability content delivered weekly.
Your company may never be required to join SBTi. But if your customers have science-based targets, their commitments can create very real expectations for you.
Read Article
Most small and mid-sized businesses know they should be doing something about sustainability. The ones that actually make progress share one thing in common: they started with a clear sequence. Here it is.
Read Article
The companies that build lasting credibility on sustainability are not the ones with the boldest claims. They're the ones whose claims are specific, honest, and backed by data. Here's how to be one of them.
Read Article
Talk with a Sustainability Expert, see a demo, or start free to put the Aclymate platform and experts to work for your team.
