Gold Standard Unveils New Ongoing Emissions Framework

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has embedded a new corporate recognition scheme for ongoing carbon emissions into its Corporate Net-Zero Standard 2.0, published on 11 June 2026 and taking effect from 1 February 2027. Organisations can now earn Recognised, Advanced, or Leadership status, depending on how much financial responsibility they take for the emissions they continue to generate while decarbonising. Credits used through the scheme sit outside a company's core science-based emissions-reduction targets, which continue to rest on direct cuts to Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.

A corporate sustainability team analysing emissions data and reviewing climate project insights on a large digital screen. AI generated picture.

The recognition scheme is built on a framework called Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER), set out in a report published by Gold Standard on 24 June 2026, during London Climate Action Week, developed jointly with Pinwheel and ClimatePartner. The report ties each tier to an internal carbon fee, recommending $20 per tonne of CO₂ for Recognised and Advanced status, and at least $80 per tonne for Leadership.

OER replaces Gold Standard's earlier Beyond Value Chain Mitigation (BVCM) concept, which the organisation says risked implying a narrow focus on mitigation activities such as carbon credits. Research and development, policy advocacy, capacity building, and adaptation finance are now positioned as equally central to global environmental goals, according to the report.

Gold Standard's report sets out four steps for a credible OER strategy: accounting for ongoing emissions, establishing an internal carbon fee, funding high-quality climate action, and communicating results with transparency. It recommends a diversified portfolio, combining near-term mitigation with longer-term investments in early-stage carbon removal technologies and other innovations still scaling towards commercial use.

The report frames carbon credits used under OER as a contribution to global mitigation, distinct from compensation for an organisation's own emissions, and flags a lack of credible claims pathways as a barrier to wider adoption. Gold Standard notes that more than 40% of carbon credit retirements in 2025 were made anonymously, which it links to a cautious communications climate across the market.