If your company has a scope 2 target, the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 just updated a meaningful piece of how you'll need to prove it. Section 4 introduces an implementation hierarchy for electricity that leans on two concepts every sustainability team needs to understand this year: geographic (deliverability) matching and temporal (hourly) matching.
Geographic Matching: the same rules for all company types
Under CNZS-C30, companies must define their electricity "activity pool" boundaries based on deliverability regions (i.e. the physical grid area that can actually deliver the electricity you're claiming). This applies whether your electricity is purchased directly or represented through certificates, and it applies to scope 2 and scope 3 electricity consumption in your value chain, wherever the geographic detail is knowable.
Electricity can count as deliverable between interconnected regions if you hold transmission rights, or if a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a low-carbon project covers your combined load across a synchronous grid. Where genuine structural constraints exist companies can take interim sector-level action while working to fix the underlying supply gap.
This requirement doesn't change based on company size. Category A and Category B companies both have to adhere to this requirement.
Temporal matching: different rules for different company types
Every company already has to meet a baseline 12-month temporal alignment requirement (CNZS-C25.5) (i.e. your market instruments need to correspond to activity happening within roughly the same year as your consumption).
But the Standard goes further for large companies (Category A): those with significant electricity use (i.e. defined as 10 GWh or more annually in a given activity pool) are now required to calculate and report the percentage of that electricity matched with low-carbon generation on an hourly basis (CNZS-C32). That includes obtaining third-party assurance on the number and reporting it publicly on the SBTi Dashboard.
Category B companies are exempt from this reporting requirement. They can choose to participate voluntarily and if they do, they're held to the same calculation and assurance standards as Category A. But ultimately, hourly matching isn't mandatory for them the way it is for large companies.
Quick Reference
Category A: companies meeting either €450M+ net turnover or 1,000+ FTEs globally, or in high-income countries where emissions are > 10,000 tCO2e in scope 1+2 emissions or two of (€25M+ balance sheet, €50M+ turnover, 250+ FTEs).
Category B: everyone else. This is where most SMEs and companies based in lower-income countries land.
Category status is locked in at target validation and holds for your full five-year target cycle.
A leadership track for anyone who wants it
Beyond the mandatory piece, SBTi is also launching a voluntary recognition program for hourly matching leadership, with thresholds that ramp up over time: at least 50% hourly matching until 2030, 75% until 2035, and 90% from 2035 onward. Any company (A or B) can opt in and get recognized on the SBTi Dashboard for hitting these marks ahead of when it's required of them.
Three Pillars Consulting helps companies translate standards like this into a workable implementation roadmap. If you want a category-specific readiness check for your scope 2 strategy, contact us at contact@threepillarsgroup.com
