Net Zero Strategy & Science-Based Target Setting
SBTi-aligned target setting, marginal abatement cost curves, credible decarbonisation pathways and rigorous offset due diligence for organisations that intend to deliver, not just announce.
Why this work is worth doing properly
A net zero commitment without a costed pathway is a liability. Regulators, lenders, customers and litigators now read transition plans closely, and the gap between a headline target and the engineering required to reach it is where credibility is lost. Orvita builds the pathway first, then sets the target the pathway can actually support.
Targets that survive scrutiny
Science-based target setting is a technical exercise before it is a communications one. It requires a complete inventory, a defensible base year, a Scope 3 screening that determines whether value chain targets are mandatory, and a modelled trajectory that reaches the required reduction rate through measures you can name.
We run the full process: base year selection and recalculation policy, pathway modelling against the applicable sectoral or absolute contraction method, target formulation, submission to the SBTi, and management of the validation dialogue. Where a sector-specific pathway applies, for example in cement, steel, aluminium, shipping or land use, we work within it rather than defaulting to a generic curve.
The abatement pathway, costed
The centre of the work is a marginal abatement cost curve built from your own assets. Every measure, from compressed air leak repair and heat recovery through to electrification, fuel switching, process change and renewable procurement, is quantified for annual tonnes abated and net cost or saving per tonne over its life.
Ordering those measures produces the pathway: what is done now because it pays for itself, what is scheduled against the next asset replacement cycle, what requires capital approval, and what remains technically unresolved and therefore needs a watching brief on emerging technology. Residual emissions are identified explicitly, so any offsetting strategy is sized honestly rather than used to close a gap that abatement should have closed.
The plan is written to transition plan expectations, with governance, capital allocation, dependencies and interim milestones, so it can be lifted directly into a CSRD, TCFD or ISSB disclosure.
Deliverables
Every engagement ends in documents your team, your auditor and your lender can all use.
SBTi-ready target set
Near-term and net zero targets modelled to the applicable method, with base year, recalculation policy and full submission support.
Marginal abatement cost curve
Every measure quantified for tonnes abated and cost per tonne, drawn from your own asset and operational data.
Sequenced decarbonisation roadmap
A year-by-year pathway tied to capital cycles, asset replacement dates and operational constraints.
Transition plan document
Governance, capital allocation, dependencies and milestones written for CSRD, TCFD and ISSB disclosure.
Offset and removal due diligence
Project-level assessment of additionality, permanence, leakage, over-crediting risk and registry integrity before you buy anything.
Progress tracking framework
Interim milestones and reporting cadence so drift is visible in the year it happens, not five years later.
Four stages, no black boxes
You see the method, the sources and the workings at every step.
- 01
Fix the baseline
A complete, quality-scored inventory and a defensible base year, because a target set on a weak baseline fails at validation.
- 02
Model the abatement
Measure by measure, we quantify what can be removed, at what cost, on what timescale, using your own operational data.
- 03
Set and validate the target
Pathway modelling against the applicable SBTi method, then submission and management of the validation dialogue.
- 04
Deliver and track
The roadmap moves into governance with owners, capital plans and interim milestones that make progress measurable.
Standards and frameworks we work to
The methodologies your clients, auditors, regulators and lenders already recognise.
Decarbonisation questions, answered
What does the SBTi actually require?
A validated target needs a complete and recent GHG inventory, near-term targets covering Scope 1 and 2 at a reduction rate consistent with 1.5C, and Scope 3 targets where that scope exceeds forty per cent of total emissions. Net zero targets additionally require deep absolute reduction, typically around ninety per cent, before any neutralisation of residual emissions. We prepare the inventory, model the pathway, complete the submission and handle the validation queries.
Are carbon offsets part of a credible net zero plan?
Only at the end, and only for genuinely residual emissions. Offsets cannot substitute for abatement in a credible plan, and low-quality credits create legal and reputational exposure rather than removing it. Where neutralisation is appropriate we run project-level due diligence on additionality, permanence, leakage, over-crediting risk and registry status, and we will tell you plainly when a portfolio does not stand up.
How do you prioritise what to decarbonise first?
With a marginal abatement cost curve built from your own operational data rather than sector averages. Each measure is quantified for tonnes abated and cost or saving per tonne, then sequenced against capital availability, asset replacement cycles and operational risk. Most clients find a meaningful block of negative-cost abatement they had not identified, which funds the harder measures later in the pathway.
What this is usually paired with
Most engagements draw on two or three service lines at once, because the evidence base is shared.
Tell us what you are measuring, reporting or trying to prove
A short conversation is usually enough to tell you whether carbon reduction plan & net zero strategy is the right starting point, what it would involve, and what it would cost. If it is not, we will say so.
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