On 11 June 2026, the case for investing in SAF certificates got materially stronger, and the reasons to wait got weaker.
The SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2, released that day and taking effect on 1 February 2027, is a significant rewrite. One change matters more than most for any company serious about its aviation footprint: commodity certificates, also known as environmental attribute certificates, now have a defined and sanctioned role in how businesses deliver their climate targets.
SAF certificates are exactly this kind of instrument. For years, the question of whether a company could buy a certificate and count the benefit sat in a grey zone, and many buyers held back because of it. V2 clears that up and gives certificates a clear, credible place in the system. For aviation Scope 3, that is the green light a lot of teams have been waiting for.
What V2 actually changed
V2 introduces an implementation hierarchy for hitting targets. Companies are expected to cut emissions at source first, then act within the shared systems they buy from or feed into, and only then take broader sector-level action where the first two routes are genuinely constrained. Market instruments, including commodity certificates, are explicitly recognised as a lever within that framework, as an interim measure until direct action becomes possible.
The detail that opens the market is the chain-of-custody model SBTi names: book-and-claim. It allows the environmental attribute of a low-carbon fuel to be sold separately from the physical product. That is precisely the mechanism a young market like SAF needs, where physical segregation through the supply chain is not yet possible or economic. Crucially, it lets early demand channel investment into low-carbon production and help it scale.
The framework even rewards volume alignment targets that increase the share of lower-carbon inputs a company buys, so the demand signal is built into the standard itself. Until now, many buyers were waiting for exactly this clarity before committing budget. That wait is over.
What you can credibly claim today
It is worth being precise, because credibility is what makes the claim valuable. A book-and-claim SAFc does not reduce your reported Scope 3 number under SBTi. V2 keeps a clear line between the physical GHG inventory and everything else. Book-and-claim purchases are accounted for and reported separately, and they support a strong, defensible system contribution claim, that you are actively helping to decarbonise the aviation system.
Far from a drawback, this is the clarity buyers have been asking for. For the first time, you know exactly what a SAFc lets you say and how to back it up, which is the hard part of any credible net zero strategy. A registry-backed, third-party assured claim is worth far more than an ambiguous one, especially now that vague green claims carry real regulatory and litigation risk.
Why moving now is the smart play
You help build the market you depend on. Low-carbon SAF is scarce and costs more than conventional jet fuel. Early buyers finance the production capacity the whole market needs, and they lock in supplier relationships before volumes tighten.
It strengthens your standing under a best-efforts framework. V2 assesses targets on a best-efforts basis. A company acting now, with credible certificates and clear documentation, is in a far stronger position than one waiting for perfect conditions.
It sets up your own future reductions. The Standard treats certificates as interim measures. As SAF becomes physically available in the pools you source from, those volumes start cutting your own inventory, and acting now puts you first in line. SBTi has grandfathered early movers before, in its treatment of existing power contracts under Scope 2.
Its value reaches beyond SBTi. Customer procurement scorecards and disclosure frameworks may credit book-and-claim, and the GHG Protocol's ongoing work on market instruments may extend its role further.
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Quality is the new currency
V2 sets a high bar, and that is good news for serious buyers. A certificate has to match the same fuel and activity in your own inventory, come from a geographically or systemically relevant system, fall within roughly a twelve-month window, and stay within your actual activity volume. It has to sit in a secure registry with serialisation, transparent retirement and no double counting, and it has to be third-party assured. The Standard also applies a system-level impact test and rules out models that stack attributes to overstate outcomes.
The opportunity is clear: quality wins. Buyers who look beyond price to provenance and integrity get the strongest claims and the best supply, and the judgment they build now compounds as the market grows.
Aviation is a textbook case
SAF cannot be delivered to every airport. Jet fuel is globally traded and commingled, low-carbon SAF is scarce and costs more, and there is no realistic way to trace specific low-carbon molecules to your own flights. That combination, high emissions, a real low-carbon alternative, and no physical traceability, is exactly the situation book-and-claim was built for.
A company with material business travel or air freight can buy a SAFc representing the low-carbon attribute of fuel produced elsewhere, report it separately, and support a credible claim of contributing to a lower-carbon aviation system, all while helping fund the SAF ramp-up that the framework is designed to reward.
For an aviation buyer, the questions to put to any supplier are practical:
- Is this tied to SAF specifically, and to the kind of flying or freight you actually do?
- Can the producer prove the fuel reached the aviation fuel system?
- Will buying it bring new SAF into production, or just move existing volume around?
- Is the documentation ready for your auditor, not just your slide deck?
SAF certificates now have a credible, recognised place in corporate climate strategy, and quality is what turns early action into lasting advantage.
The runway is open
The Standard is published now and takes effect on 1 February 2027, with the previous version available under transitional arrangements. That gives companies a clear runway to prepare: building supplier relationships, testing registries, and developing the internal judgment to buy well. The teams that start now will be ready to act with confidence as the market matures, and they will be the ones shaping it.
The signal from SBTi is hard to miss: commodity certificates are in, and quality is the currency. For aviation, SAFc is how that signal becomes action. Refine helps buyers access, compare and procure SAF certificates that can stand up to this level of scrutiny, turning aviation Scope 3 into a credible, defensible procurement strategy aligned with where net zero standards are clearly heading. The buyers who move first will shape their position, and the advantage is there for the taking.
