As the world engages in the process of decarbonization, organizations are rushing to figure out how to best calculate their carbon emissions and set net-zero targets. For a business to understand its impact on the planet, though, it first needs to assess what its current carbon footprint actually is. Then, and only then, can it take the imperative steps needed to reduce it.
The process of calculating greenhouse gas emissions is not just a regulatory requirement – nowadays, it’s becoming a necessity to track progress against net-zero targets set by businesses individually, and by cities and regions collectively. Requirements do, of course, differ across organizations, countries and industries, and as a result, a selection of carbon footprint calculators with varying degrees of usefulness and credibility can be found online.
To make it easier to understand which calculator is best for your needs, here is our review of the eight most popular and reliable calculators, compared according to the following essential criteria:
Here’s a quick overview of each calculator that we’ve rated. You can find a more detailed analysis of each one below this table.
Target audience: SMEs.
Regional focus: United Kingdom.
Data and methodology: It refers specifically to the GHG Protocol, including direct emissions from fuel and processes and emissions from purchased electricity. The calculator is not fully comprehensive and does not provide a full evaluation of an SME’s footprint with scope 3 insights – and only allows reporting until 2022. However, it provides full transparency on methodology and data used.
Usability: It provides a good user experience.
Best for: UK-based SMEs.
This calculator is powered by Normative and was developed with support from Google. You have to make an account to use the calculator, though you can also sign in with Google.
Target audience: SMEs.
Regional focus: Businesses in all regions.
Data and methodology: Based on data from the GHG Protocol, this calculator is comprehensive and transparent about the methodology used.
Usability: It has a good, easy-to-use interface and offers advice from net-zero experts to support companies with their emission profiles.
Best for: SMEs globally.
Target audience: SMEs.
Regional focus: US-based businesses.
Data and methodology: EPA-based emission factors with a limited scope. Offers simplified calculations for electricity, heat generation, vehicles, air, rail, shipping, and events, which are converted to cost for offsetting. The calculator adheres to the Quality Assurance Protocol and has published its methodology and data sources.
Usability: Average user experience. Sells credits for offsetting.
Best for: US-based businesses.
The ecocockpit calculator is made by the Efficiency Agency in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany. You have to register to use it.
Target audience: SMEs.
Regional focus: Available for Germany-based companies. Offered only in German.
Data and methodology: Refers to the GHG Protocol and has a comprehensive set of categories to allow for footprint estimations across all scopes. The calculator has a transparent methodology and the agency offers courses and events to educate on the use of the calculator and GHG accounting, which is useful given its relative complexity.
Usability: It provides a good user experience.
Best for: German-based SMEs.
Target audience: Individuals, SMEs, large businesses, and events.
Regional focus: Available for companies across the globe, though best suited for the US.
Data and methodology: Uses EPA data. It’s not very comprehensive compared to other calculators on the market, with no scope 3 coverage, and information on its data and methodology is trickier to find.
Usability: It provides an average user experience. Offsetting is available for interested users.
Best for: General business use in the US.
The Change Climate Project is a non-profit whose free Business Emissions Evaluator is intended as a first step for businesses looking to take part in their Climate Neutral certification process. You can access the BEE after creating an account.
Target audience: SMEs.
Regional focus: Available for companies globally.
Data methodology: The Business Emissions Evaluator is built on the Climatiq database, the largest database of vetted emission factors that combines data from almost 40 sources to cover all regions.
Usability: The BEE is very simple to use. With minimal input from users, it calculates scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions to return carbon footprint estimations within minutes.
Best for: SMEs who want a quick insight into their emissions across all scopes.
Ecovisea is specific to Southeast Asia. You need to create an account to use it.
Target audience: SMEs.
Regional focus: Southeast Asia.
Data methodology: It uses the Climatiq database. Thanks to Climatiq’s inclusion of emission factors for Southeast Asia, Ecovisea makes an important contribution to increasing carbon visibility in a region that is typically underserved when it comes to sustainability solutions.
Usability: Ecovisea provides an average user experience, with breakdown of emissions into scopes 1, 2, and 3.
Best for: SMEs in Southeast Asia.
Despite the misleading name, Persefoni Pro is a free tool, though you have to sign up to use it. Paid users get access to additional features.
Target audience: Companies of all sizes.
Regional focus: Available for companies globally.
Data methodology: A comprehensive tool that allows calculations across all scopes based on GHG Protocol methodology. Users can decide whether to use preset estimations or upload their own data.
Usability: Despite the tool’s complexity, the UI is user-friendly and easy to navigate. It gives experts an in-depth view into how their carbon footprint is calculated.
Best for: Companies globally who want a more in-depth overview of their carbon footprint.
Numerous online carbon footprint calculators are available for individuals, households, SMEs, and large businesses. Even among business-focused calculators, there are large differences in terms of scope, transparency of methodology, and reliability of calculations. As the world races to set net-zero targets and strategies, it’s important for individuals and organizations to identify and calculate their emissions and take the necessary steps to reduce them.
Keep an eye out for our next blog in this series where we discuss best practices to design and develop a carbon calculator using Climatiq’s API, which boasts the largest database of emission factors for reliable scope 1-3 calculations.
