Net Zero Roadmap Toolkit (Excel) — SBTi Aligned

Net Zero Roadmap Toolkit (Excel, SBTi-aligned)

This free net zero roadmap toolkit turns a climate ambition into a science-based plan you can actually track — and it does far more than a static template. Built around the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard, it takes you from a full greenhouse-gas inventory, through near-term and net-zero targets, to a year-by-year 1.5°C reduction pathway, then scores how credible your plan is out of 100. Open it and a dashboard greets you with a maturity score, a traffic-light status, a progress bar to net zero, a visual timeline, and live gauges — so decision-makers grasp where you stand in seconds, not spreadsheets.

The toolkit is designed to be honest about what “net zero” actually requires. It encodes the current science-based definition — a roughly 90% absolute cut across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050 at the latest, with the small residual neutralized by permanent carbon removal — and a near-term target on a 1.5°C pathway using the Absolute Contraction Approach floor of 4.2% per year. Enter your emissions and target years, and the net zero roadmap toolkit does the rest: it computes your required trajectory, checks it against SBTi rules, ranks your initiatives by impact and cost, and shows whether your plan actually closes the gap.

What is a net zero roadmap?

A net zero roadmap is the plan that connects where your emissions are today to a science-aligned end point — and sets out the trajectory and the actions in between. It answers three questions in order: how much do we emit, how fast must we cut, and which levers will get us there. Without one, a net-zero pledge is a headline; with one, it becomes a schedule of reductions you can budget, assign, and report against. This toolkit gives that plan a repeatable structure, so the roadmap survives staff changes and audit scrutiny.

How to use this toolkit

1. Inventory — enter base-year and latest-year emissions across Scope 1, 2, and the 15 Scope 3 categories.
2. Targets — set your base year, near-term year (2030) and net-zero year (≤2050); SBTi defaults are pre-filled.
3. Initiatives — list each lever; the toolkit auto-calculates cost per tonne, payback, impact/effort, and a Quick Win / Strategic / Incremental / Optional tag.
4. Pathway — read the 1.5°C required trajectory against your planned and actual emissions, with a built-in chart.

The dashboard then surfaces the headline result — a maturity score, your next priority, and whether you are on or off track — with no macros to enable.

What it aligns with

The toolkit follows the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard (Version 1.3.1, current for targets set in 2026) and uses the 15 value-chain categories defined by the GHG Protocol. It also flags when a Scope 3 target becomes mandatory — where Scope 3 is 40% or more of your total footprint — and its structure maps cleanly onto the transition-plan disclosures expected under CSRD, which our CSRD guide explains in full. The workbook is an independent planning aid and is not affiliated with or endorsed by SBTi.

Who should use it

This net zero roadmap toolkit suits sustainability and ESG leads, climate programme managers, and finance or operations teams tasked with decarbonization — in companies preparing an SBTi submission, building a CSRD transition plan, or simply moving from measurement to a credible plan. It works for a single-site manufacturer setting its first target and for a group coordinating reductions across many facilities. If you have already measured your footprint and need to turn it into a defensible, board-ready trajectory, this is the bridge.

Related resources

Pair the toolkit with a platform that automates the underlying inventory: explore the Net Zero Planning category on AiGreenTools and carbon-accounting tools such as Watershed and Persefoni, or read our best carbon accounting software guide. Every tool is scored using our transparent five-pillar methodology, so you can move from planning your net zero roadmap to choosing the software that will run it.