SBTi recently updated its Communications Guidance for companies and financial institutions that have committed to set targets or hold validated ones. The full list of changes is on page four of this guide. Below are the changes worth understanding.
New guidance on EU consumer claims
The guide adds an appendix on the EU's Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT) Directive, which applies from September 27, 2026.
Key points from the appendix:
- The ECGT applies to business-to-consumer (B2C) practices specifically in the EU, including where the traders or products originate from outside the EU. It does not apply to B2B communications, including sustainability reports for a corporate or investor audience. If the same content is used in advertising or marketing directed at consumers, it falls within scope.
- EU Member States can set stricter rules than the ECGT baseline when they transpose it into national law — for example, by extending equivalent protections to B2B communications. Companies should check the transposition laws in their relevant jurisdictions to see whether ECGT-equivalent obligations apply to their B2B communications too.
- Companies making claims about SBTi-validated targets to an EU consumer audience should get legal advice first, to confirm the claim meets ECGT requirements — including a published implementation plan. The guide advises against making these claims on EU product packaging without that legal advice.
- The guide also recommends getting legal advice before communicating an intent or commitment to submit targets for SBTi validation, if that communication reaches a consumer audience.
- Separately, the guide recommends limiting SBTi logo use to B2B communications and advises against using the logo in communications to an EU consumer audience.
Wording for commitments and validated targets has changed
SBTi is moving away from phrasing like "Company X has committed to reduce" in favor of "Company X has set a target to." The guide gives this example for a validated near-term target:
"Company X has set a target to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 90% by FY2030 from a FY2022 base year."
Companies can still use the older "commits to" phrasing if they prefer it — the guide notes this explicitly.
Business case language was added
The guide now includes language encouraging companies to acknowledge the business benefits of decarbonization and validated targets and to emphasize the urgency of climate action given the risk to "core business functions and value drivers — from operational efficiency to supply chain stability." It includes a quote from a Lenovo representative describing how having validated targets "strengthened confidence among investors, customers, suppliers, and employees."
What was removed or excluded
- Content related to the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign was removed, since the campaign is no longer active.
- The guide does not apply to Corporate Net-Zero Standard version 2, for which a Claims Policy is still in development.
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