Carbon accounting software is a specialized platform that helps businesses track, calculate, and manage their greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint, facilitating environmental reporting, sustainability goals, and compliance with emissions regulations. It streamlines data collection, analysis, and reporting to promote transparency and enhance investor confidence.
As the climate crisis accelerates and we transition from a voluntary to a regulated reporting landscape, manual carbon accounting is no longer a viable option. Demand has grown for a digitized solution for accurate and reliable emissions disclosure.
The good news is that many organizations around the world already report carbon data; The bad news is they do it in so many disparate ways that it makes a comparison between companies exceptionally difficult.
The marketplace has made great strides recently towards standardization to streamline the reporting of carbon emissions and mitigate the very real financial risks associated with its management. But a critical first step is establishing a fundamental understanding of what carbon accounting software is today - an accessible solution to the many carbon reporting issues we currently face. So, let's break it down:
At a high level, carbon accounting software is designed to help organizations manage and quantify their carbon emissions. With the right technology solution, companies can accurately track their emissions data and collect the necessary information to begin strategically reducing or completely eliminating carbon emissions (also known as decarbonization).
Companies that invest in audit-ready carbon accounting software solutions are better equipped to collect and manage their data, disclose their carbon footprints to relevant stakeholders, apply business analytics for decarbonization strategies and establish Science-based Targets (SBTi), and manage ongoing compliance-related and supply chain issues.
Unified auditing: A workflow that streamlines the carbon management and sustainability reporting process is a must. Consider how automated or prone to manipulation a vendor's calculation process is and its auditing methodologies.
Reporting and analytics: Emissions data, benchmark reporting, or energy consumption rates form a critical part of the reporting and analytics features any carbon accounting software should offer. This way, organizations can establish frameworks that work toward carbon reduction and garner results.
Personalized support: As mentioned previously, software features alone are hardly enough for organizations to reach emissions milestones and mitigate expenditures. A worthy carbon accounting solution will provide personalized advice and real-time support according to industry, region, and other specifications influenced by regional guidelines.
Persefoni, a leading carbon accounting platform for climate management, is recognized by Forrester as a leader in carbon accounting and sustainability software. With a commitment to accuracy, transparency, and efficiency, Persefoni simplifies carbon footprint calculations through its GHGP- and PCAF-aligned Calculation Engine, covering scopes 1, 2, and 3. The platform integrates emission factors and collaboration tools, ensuring transparency via its Footprint Ledger and utilizing AI for error and anomaly detection and on-demand technical carbon accounting support.
Microsoft's Sustainability Cloud is an extension of Microsoft's long-held dedication to sustainable endeavors. With a suite of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) tools, it is designed to empower organizations in accelerating their sustainability initiatives and driving business growth through the power of data and AI. With features like Microsoft Sustainability Manager, users can drive data transparency and insights to take actionable steps.
Microsoft's Sustainability Cloud already has a series of heavy-hitting partnerships. The Sustainability Cloud interprets data from the whole spectrum of ESG, which may impact the granularity of its carbon accounting data and subsequent insights it may be able to provide. It may lend itself more to the mid-market/SMB customer, but it is too early to tell.
Net Zero Cloud showcases Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff's longtime commitment to addressing climate change. It's an emissions accounting product built on Salesforce's automation, language support, and integration features. While this can be a strength and lend itself to useful emissions reporting features, it also comes with limitations due to its reliance on its existing data schema, which wasn't built for accounting.
Net Zero Cloud does come with a robust list of partners like Accenture and several others in the enterprise space. While there have been mixed reports on the overall scalability of the tool, its dashboard functionality is solid.
Sphera seeks to eliminate information silos by centralizing reporting, data, and management tools for teams to work on safety and sustainability efforts. Sphera is part of The Blackstone Group and leverages its earlier acquisition of thinkstep in 2019.
Sinai Technologies emphasizes decarbonization through its modeling and planning capabilities. Its customers can reduce emissions to meet milestones and harness growth while controlling greenhouse gas output.
Emitwise is not as well funded as many of the other vendors in this space, and one of the top five things you should consider when investing in enterprise software. It is also smaller in terms of staff and lacks the breadth of partnerships that Persefoni and other vendors have.
With roots in New Zealand and founded in 1994, U.S.-based Diligent is a governance, risk, and compliance software company designed for executives, non-profits, and governments. It acquired the legacy Limerick, Ireland-based ESG vendor Accuvio in August 2021. Originating in 2009, Accuvio was a broad ESG with less than a handful of employees.
Diligent and Accuvio aim to strengthen governance by streamlining the connection between risk, compliance, cost savings, and auditing from a single platform. It also provides "climate leadership certification", sustainability and ESG reporting, and compliance management tools. However, for some organizations, it may leave much to be desired where carbon emissions calculations and performance monitoring are concerned.
However, depending on your needs, Sweep falls short in the key management features that matter, namely sustainability experience, advanced reporting, and the ability to scale. Yet, for a business needing accessible greenhouse gas emissions management with sensible pricing, Sweep may be a viable option.
Carbon emissions control is an ongoing issue that current and future organizations must consider as part of their bottom line. As regulations change and reduction targets grow stringent in an effort to mitigate climate change, end-to-end emissions accounting systems now form an integral part of a data-driven solution for growth-oriented organizations.
When choosing carbon accounting software, prioritize solutions that provide audit-grade data, automate data collection, and offer investor-grade disclosures to meet reporting requirements and enhance transparency for stakeholders. These features ensure reliable emissions tracking, streamline processes, and facilitate credible communication with investors and other stakeholders.
A carbon accounting tool is a software application or platform designed to measure, track, and manage an organization's carbon emissions and environmental impacts. It helps businesses and institutions calculate their greenhouse gas emissions, often using data from various sources such as energy consumption, transportation, and production processes. The tool provides insights and reports to support sustainability efforts, set emission reduction targets, and comply with environmental regulations.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is considered the most widely used carbon accounting method globally. It sets the standard for companies to measure, manage, and report their greenhouse gas emissions. With its comprehensive framework, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides a robust foundation for organizations looking to track and reduce their carbon footprint efficiently.
The cost of carbon accounting can vary depending on the size of the organization, the complexity of its operations, the chosen software or service provider, and the level of detail required in the analysis. It can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars per year for smaller businesses, while larger corporations may incur higher costs.
An example of carbon accounting is a manufacturing company using a carbon accounting tool to track its greenhouse gas emissions from various sources, such as energy usage, transportation, and production processes. The company analyzes the data to identify emission hotspots, set reduction targets, and generate reports to communicate its environmental performance to stakeholders.
Yes and No. Carbon accounting focuses on measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts of an organization's activities, while financial accounting deals with recording and reporting financial transactions, income, expenses, and profits of a business. Both types of accounting serve different purposes and use different methodologies and frameworks. However, carbon accounting should be treated with the same rigor as financial accounting, ensuring that businesses report decision-useful data to investors and stakeholders , enabling them to assess their climate-related risks and opportunities.
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