Free Carbon Footprint Calculation

  • Free emissions baseline calculation: All approved applicants to all Pilots receive free, accurate, comprehensive carbon emissions reports for their business.
  • Free Expert Checks: All Pilot phase data is checked by See Through Carbon’s team of (human) expert consultants, working pro bono.
  • Methodology: See Through Carbon’s Expert Panel determines the best available methodology to use for each Pilot, always prioritising accuracy via the best available practice and data. In Pilots where a relevant regulator specifies a particular methodology (e.g. Pilots 1, 2, 4 & 5 where the UK government has specified the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for its Carbon Reduction Plans), we will use it.
  • Accuracy: In Pilots where the relevant regulator doesn’t stipulate the precise methodology (e.g. Pilots 2, 3, 6 & 7), See Through Carbon’s Expert Panel will use the most accurate available options. For energy-intensive businesses in Pilot 3, for example, they may combine GHGP measurements with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodologies, Environmental Product Description (EPD) conversion factors etc., as they’re better suited to carbon-intensive products like steel, cement, fertiliser etc. Pilot 6 may require some method of incorporating ​‘insetting’, as this is uniquely available to farmers. Pilot 7 may require particular ways of measuring the emissions from water supply, as many stages in textiles manufacture are particularly water-intensive. Whatever the Expert Panel decides, all Pilot methodologies will be transparently published on See Through Carbon’s website and available for public scrutiny.

Free Help for Regulatory Compliance

  • See Through Carbon uses your data to generate a free, accurate, open, transparent, verifiable, auditable baseline for your company, visible in its public database.
  • Some form of carbon footprint baseline is required by all regulators as a benchmark for credible Carbon Reduction Plans (CRPs), e.g. as required by British public sector bodies from April 1 2024.
  • Many jurisdictions, including the UK and EU, are rapidly replacing self-regulating voluntary schemes with mandatory carbon reporting requiring much stricter criteria, greater accuracy, and comprehensive Scope 3 reporting.This is likely to get more stringent very quickly, meaning even if your business is not currently obliged to be compliant, it soon will be.

See Through Carbon’s Unique Ecosystem Benefits

Participating SMEs (1−249 employees) in all Pilots benefit by:

  • Being compliant if already required to report their emissions
  • If not already required to report their emissions, being ready for compliance when it becomes obligatory
  • Better serving their their big business clients, for whom carbon reporting is mandatory, by making their Scope 3 supply chain calculation accurate and convenient
  • Showing their employees, customers, suppliers, investors, banks etc. they are serious about reducing their emissions

Participating big businesses (250+ employees) in Pilots 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7, benefit by:

  • Accessing See Through Carbon’s unique ​‘trusted 3rd-party’ solution to the ​‘SME Paradox’, i.e. how to get accurate data from their SME supply chains, for whom it is not yet a legal requirement.
  • Complying with regulation, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) or Cross Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) by using third parties to collect, store and process their supply chain data.

‘List of Solutions’ carbon-reducing consultancy

  • In addition to free baseline carbon footprint calculation, See Through Carbon is offering a limited number of Pilot SME participants its beta free basic carbon-reducing consultancy.
  • This ​‘List of Solutions’ consists of three suggested actions for significant carbon reduction, based on individual participants’ data, each with an estimated carbon reduction ​‘price tag’.
  • In combination with the baseline carbon footprint, this List of Solutions provides the basis for the Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) required by many regulators, including the UK Government..

‘List of Solutions’ Eligibility

See Through Carbon’s carbon consultant experts are offering limited bespoke basic consultancy work on a pro bono basis, for selected Participants. The criteria for selection for this beta service are:

  • Eligible: SMEs that would otherwise be unable to afford professional carbon consultant fees.
  • Ineligible: Big companies (using the OECD’s definition of 250+ employees), as they have the financial resources to pay for bespoke specialist carbon reduction advice.

Which Participants’ Needs Are Most Urgent?

New carbon reporting regulations signal a clear direction of travel towards much more stringent carbon reporting.

Many types of businesses are already being required to submit more comprehensive carbon reports that include their SME supply chain, in particular:

  • Big businesses
  • Businesses in particularly energy-intensive sectors
  • Public sector bodies like the NHS, social services, local governments, schools and universities
  • SMEs that supply any of the above

Licence Agreement

The benefits and conditions described above are summarised in See Through Carbon End User Licence Agreement.

As See Through Carbon is an open, transparent ecosystem with no data to conceal or IP to protect, it is unusually concise, but all Participants must agree to it.