(Bloomberg) -- Luiz Amaral, the chief executive officer of the Science Based Targets initiative who came under fire for a controversial decision to loosen guidelines around carbon offsets, will step down at the end of July. 

Amaral is departing the world’s main verifier of corporate emissions for personal reasons, the group said in a statement on Tuesday. Chief legal officer Susan Jenny Ehr will take the top job on an interim basis with support from the board.

The resignation follows a turbulent period during which SBTi’s staff called on Amaral and the board to resign following an April statement which said SBTi would allow companies to use carbon credits to offset emissions along their entire supply chains, a surprising reversal of the group’s long-held position. The manner in which the statement was released, bypassing staff and advisory groups, raised concerns about SBTi’s governance, not to mention its susceptibility to external pressure.

Amaral has said he “deeply regrets” the distress caused to SBTi colleagues.

SBTi has validated the climate plans of more than 5,000 companies and is relied on by investors and policymakers to judge corporate green targets. It is set to clarify its position on the use of offsets this month.

The group has previously stressed that companies should prioritize reducing emissions and only use offsets — which are credits that they can buy to support sustainability projects — to cancel out the tiny amount that is impossible to cut. While some experts have lauded that rigorous approach, many corporate figures, and even some climate activists, have berated SBTi for being inflexible and acting as an impediment to helping critical funds reach developing countries.

SBTi has said it plans to publish this month its assessment of the evidence that the group gathered in a months-long research exercise focused on the effectiveness of carbon offsets in corporate climate targets. It also intends to release a discussion paper on SBTi’s “initial thinking” about potential changes being explored around Scope 3 target setting.

“My time as CEO has been incredibly rewarding, and I remain steadfast in my belief in the importance, the impact, and the promising future of the SBTi,” Amaral said in Tuesday’s statement. 

Francesco Starace, chair of SBTi’s board, said “the crucial work of SBTi will continue.”

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(Adds information about SBTi’s plans for July in seventh paragraph.)

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