London, UK – June 24, 2025 — Sage, the leader in accounting, financial, HR and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) today announced the launch of Carbon Commons — a standardised emissions methodology, with an accompanying dataset, aimed at creating a unified approach to Scope 3 carbon emissions measurement.
The initiative was announced at London Climate Action Week, in partnership with Small World Consulting, and with additional support from the British Business Bank. Its aim is to simplify the carbon accounting process by offering complete datasets, transparent methodologies and robust governance, so that businesses wanting to decarbonise their supply chains can more reliably measure and compare their results.
In the spirit of collective action, Carbon Commons is open source and accessible to all. It currently has 3,750 hybridised emissions intensity factors (EIFs), with the goal of scaling globally to tens of thousands over the coming months. Over time, Sage will also look to incorporate these factors into Sage Earth, its carbon accounting solution for SMBs, to help them get a more accurate picture of their footprint.
UK SMBs contribute 44% of the country’s non-household emissions, but often don't have the tools to decarbonise their operations. Moreover, the lack of standardisation when it comes to measuring supply chain emissions means SMBs -- who often don't have the technical know-how -- may be reporting on their emissions in a variety of time-consuming and disparate formats, based on the requester, leading to inefficiencies and wasted resources.
Carbon Commons addresses these challenges by integrating financial and physical consumption data into a unified framework, overcoming the inconsistencies found in the two dominant carbon-footprinting approaches, and giving SMBs one consistent way to measure their footprint.
Using Carbon Commons helps large businesses -- and the SMEs within their supply chain -- understand their climate impact, identify high-emission areas, and prioritise targeted reduction strategies. This can also be critical for SMBs’ growth – from using it to unlock green finance opportunities, as well as allowing a clear path to data requests from enterprises and regulatory bodies.
Mike Berners-Lee, author and Director of Small World Consulting, said: “The field of supply chain carbon accounting has been fragmented and incoherent for decades. But it doesn't have to be this way -- Carbon Commons will deliver a step-change in carbon accounting, to make it easy to have realistic, compatible and dependable carbon footprints for organisations and products of all types and sizes.”
George Sandilands, Vice President of Carbon Accounting, Sage, said: “Our mission at Sage is to empower SMBs to become agents of sustainability within their communities – and using reliable, standardised data to understand where they are in their own net-zero journey is the first step towards that ambition. We are proud to be launching this transparent, accessible framework that will not only help them become more sustainable, but data from which will help them scale their businesses in new, innovative ways.”
Carbon Commons’ full list of supporting launch partners includes the Carbon Accounting Alliance, Bankers for Net Zero and Climatiq, with additional partners being welcomed. Download the whitepaper to find out more: Carbon Commons.
About Sage
Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of small- and mid-sized businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology, and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis. Learn more at www.sage.com/en-gb/
About Small World Consulting
Small World Consulting are a world-leading consultancy with expertise in measuring the carbon and climate impact of full supply chains and operations. Small World’s mission is to help organisations understand their true impact on people and the planet and inspire them to think and act differently to become truly sustainable. Learn more at SWC’s website.