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Gold Standard is inviting companies to join a new Ongoing Emissions Responsibility Working Group which will develop credible approaches for addressing emissions that remain while organisations work towards net zero.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – 18.09.2026 – The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has established a basis for recognising how companies address the emissions that remain while they work towards net zero. The next challenge is making that recognition work in practice.
Gold Standard is inviting companies with credible climate targets to join a new Ongoing Emissions Responsibility (OER) Working Group, which will bring companies together to develop credible approaches for addressing ongoing emissions through climate action beyond their value chains.
The group will convene a small cohort of companies to work through the challenges they face in practice. The group will explore questions such as:
- How OER can fit within a company’s transition plan;
- How companies can develop credible portfolios of climate action;
- Which instruments and activities may qualify;
- How companies can work together under the sharing of emissions opportunity of SBTI Net Zero Standard (NZS) 2.0 to deliver impact together; and
- How companies can communicate their progress accurately and defensibly and be recognised for doing so.
They will examine how challenges arise in real company portfolios, and co-develop practical solutions, guidance and case studies that will define corporate best practice for OER.
“Our new Ongoing Emissions Responsibility Working Group gives companies the opportunity to shape best practice for a new era of climate action. Working with the Gold Standard experts who helped pioneer the concept and with peers facing similar challenges, participants will help develop a credible pathway for taking responsibility for the emissions that remain during the transition to net zero, directing more finance towards high-impact climate action and enabling companies to be recognised for their contribution.”
Margaret Kim, CEO of Gold Standard
Gold Standard pioneered research into activities that help companies to contribute to global climate goals, publishing Funding Beyond Value Chain Mitigation (BVCM) in June 2024 and Ongoing Emissions – Taking Responsibility in June 2026. SBTi has now embedded OER in its Corporate Net-Zero Standard 2.0, including a voluntary recognition programme for participating companies. Indicative analysis by Gold Standard shows that applying the “Advanced” contribution levels outlined by SBTi across companies in the EU and US could represent around US$17 billion in annual finance for climate action.
However, there is not yet an established practical route for companies to determine what qualifies, build an OER approach or demonstrate it in a credible and consistent way. This working group aims to address that in 2027.