Often small business or sole trader clients don’t need full audit ready carbon accounting, yet. But there’s real value in helping them understand the basics, talk about what they’re doing, and stay ahead of the curve so they are ready to provide the data if they are asked for this.
When it comes to carbon reporting, most small businesses aren’t under pressure from regulators. If they’re sole traders or micro businesses, they’re unlikely to be asked for detailed emissions data. But that doesn’t mean they won’t be asked for anything. Their customers, employees, lenders, and suppliers are starting to care and questions are coming.
As their advisor, you don’t need to turn every small client into an emissions expert. You can help them understand what carbon accounting is, why it matters, and how to speak credibly about their sustainability efforts.
What firms are doing:
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Creating Sumday Profiles: A simple way for small businesses to share what they’re doing without over claiming. This gives them something concrete to point to in tenders, on their website, or in conversations with customers.
- Completing a Quick Estimate: A simple quick win is to create an account for your small business clients, connect Xero or upload your clients general ledger transactions to their account and complete a quick estimate. This gives you an overview of where emissions come from to show your client, they can use AI to ask questions and get insights that help them feel prepared.
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Sense-checking marketing claims: Helping clients avoid greenwashing by making sure what they say can be backed up, for example if your client says 'we make low emissions muffins' you'll want to suggest they have the numbers to back that up which you can help with.
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Offering light-touch “carbon bookkeeping”: For firms that want to lead with impact, adding basic carbon bookkeeping services into existing monthly packages is an easy win that gives internal staff an opportunity to learn to skills and provides a differentiator in the market.
Why it works:
This isn’t about compliance, it’s about reputation, relationships, and readiness. Your client might not need this today, but your support ensures they’re not caught off guard tomorrow. Think about the ways you can deliver this that add value to your firm as well.