Shipper
Collects figures from many carriers for its Scope 3.
Needs carrier data intake and defaults where it is missing.Software · logistics carbon, buyer’s guide
Logistics carbon software: choosing by your role in the chain
Logistics carbon software calculates the emissions of moving goods from shipment, fuel or spend data, for shippers, carriers and fleet operators.
What you need depends on where you sit in the chain, so this page starts there, then gives the demo questions to run on a month of your own shipments.
The method in full, ISO 14083 and GLEC, is on logistics carbon reporting software.
Your role
Which logistics carbon software does your role in the chain call for?
A shipper and a carrier are buying different tools even when the vendor is the same.
A shipper reports freight in Scope 3 under the Scope 3 Standard, so its tool must collect carrier data and fall back to defaults clearly.
A carrier or logistics provider must share its fleet’s emissions between customers, and ISO 14083 sets a common methodology for quantifying and reporting transport-chain emissions.
A fleet operator’s own fuel is Scope 1, and for SECR only journeys that start or end in the UK count, under ¶20K of Schedule 7.
Freight
emissions
emissions
Carrier or 3PL
Allocates its fleet’s emissions across customers.
Needs allocation and customer reports.Fleet operator
Reports its own fuel in Scope 1 and SECR.
Needs fuel cards, telematics and the UK journey split.The data
What data must logistics carbon software get, and from whom?
The transport management system is the starting point and rarely the whole answer.
Smart Freight Centre says transport management systems often do not capture all the parameters a good-quality calculation needs, in its GLEC Framework material.
Ask each provider which fields it needs per shipment, what it does when one is missing, and how the gap shows in the report.
Carrier-supplied figures beat defaults, so ask how a tool takes them in and records their source.
Where freight data comes fromExplore
Where freight data comes from
Carriers
Primary emissions by lane, where they supply it.
Where freight data comes from
Fuel cards
Litres by vehicle for the own fleet.
Where freight data comes from
Ledger
Freight spend, for spend-based gaps.
Before you buy
Which questions should you put to a logistics carbon provider?
Each question beside this names its source and what a passing answer looks like.
Bring one real month of shipments, including a lane with missing weights.
The method behind each question is on logistics carbon reporting software.
This site has tested no products
Nothing here is a rating, ranking or recommendation.
Logistics carbon demo questions · tick the ones you need
The pass tests are our reading of the cited provisions.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
The platforms
Which platforms work on supply chain emissions, in their own words?
This site’s registry records no ISO 14083 or GLEC claim for any vendor, so for that, ask Smart Freight Centre’s certified-partner list directly.
Below are the 41 vendors filed under supply chain, alphabetically, with what each says about Scope 3; each describes its supply-chain work clearly.
Each line is the platform’s own description, linked to the page it is on, read 11 October 2026 and 30 September–1 October 2026. Alphabetical; nothing here is a rating.
Shortlist by roleExplore
Spreadsheet or software
When is a spreadsheet enough for freight emissions?
A few steady lanes can be calculated by distance in a spreadsheet with the DESNZ freight factors for the year.
Many lanes, carriers, modes or customer reports make the case for software.
The calculator beside this compares your current hours with any quote you hold; it names no price.
Platform against the way you work now
Current process £0 a year · quote £0 a year
Fill in all three to see the break-even hours.
Arithmetic on your own inputs.
The quote’s implementation, uplift and exit terms are in the three-year worksheet on the carbon reporting software page.
Nothing is stored or sent.
The first year
What does the first year of logistics carbon software involve?
Connect the transport system first and list every missing field before any reporting.
Ask the carriers on the busiest lanes for primary data, because they carry most of the total.
Fix the method and allocation rule, then report by category on the factor set for the year the freight moved.
First yearExplore
First year
Connect the TMS
Map fields; list the gaps.
First year
Ask the top carriers
Primary data for the busiest lanes first.
For the board
Freight emissions are only as good as the shipment data behind them
Choose the tool that shows its gaps honestly, then spend the first year closing them.
Takeaways
Logistics carbon software in five facts
| Fact | What to do |
|---|---|
| ISO 14083:2023 is the common transport-chain method | Ask which method each result uses |
| GLEC is SFC’s implementation guide, with certified tools | Verify certification with SFC |
| Transport systems often miss key parameters | Test with a lane that has gaps |
| SECR counts only UK journeys for transport fuel | Check the tool splits journeys |
| UK ETS covers large ships from 1 July 2026 | Keep regulated monitoring separate |
Next: read supply chain emissions software if you also collect supplier data beyond freight.
Frequently asked
Logistics carbon software, answered
What is logistics carbon software?
Software that calculates the greenhouse gas emissions of moving goods, from shipment, fuel or spend data, for a shipper, a carrier or a fleet operator.
The sibling guide on logistics carbon reporting software explains the method; this page helps each role choose a tool.
Which logistics carbon software is best?
This site has tested no product and names no best.
Start from your role in the chain — shipper, carrier or fleet — then ask each provider to calculate a real month of your shipments.
Does logistics carbon software need to follow ISO 14083?
No UK law requires it.
ISO 14083:2023 is a voluntary international standard for transport-chain emissions, and Smart Freight Centre describes its GLEC Framework as the primary industry guideline for implementing it.
Customers increasingly ask for figures on that basis.
Can a tool be certified to GLEC?
Smart Freight Centre says its certified partners, including tools, can deliver calculations in conformance with the GLEC Framework.
Ask a provider for its current certification from SFC itself.
Why does my transport management system not give a carbon figure?
Smart Freight Centre notes that transport management systems often do not capture all the parameters a good-quality calculation needs, such as actual weights, empty running or vehicle type.
Ask a tool how it fills those gaps and labels them.
Does SECR require logistics emissions?
For an unquoted company, SECR covers transport fuel the company pays for, on journeys that start, end, or both start and end in the UK.
It asks for no other Scope 3, so subcontracted haulage is outside SECR.
Is shipping now in the UK ETS?
Yes, from 1 July 2026 the UK ETS covers domestic maritime voyages and port activity for ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above, regardless of flag, with offshore vessels added from 1 January 2027. That is regulated monitoring, separate from a corporate carbon tool.
Which emission factors should the tool use?
For UK reporting, the DESNZ conversion factors for the year the freight moved; carrier-specific data where the carrier provides it.
Ask the tool to show the factor year on every line.
Do carriers need different software from shippers?
Often.
A carrier needs to allocate its fleet’s emissions across many customers; a shipper needs to collect figures from many carriers.
Some platforms do both.
Is a spreadsheet enough?
For a few lanes with steady volumes, a distance-based spreadsheet with DESNZ freight factors can be.
Software helps with many lanes, carriers or modes, and with customer reporting.
Does logistics carbon software help with PPN 006?
Yes, if you bid for major government contracts: PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plans include Scope 3 categories for upstream and downstream transport.
PPN 006 is procurement policy, not a legal duty on companies.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
Checked against 15 sources fromISOSmart Freight CentreGHG ProtocolDESNZlegislation.gov.ukCabinet Office
- ISOISO 14083:2023 Quantification and reporting of GHG emissions from transport chain operations
Edition 1, 20 March 2023; a common methodology for passenger and freight.
- Smart Freight CentreThe GLEC Framework
SFC’s guide to implementing ISO 14083; certified partners include tools.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
Categories 4 and 9: upstream and downstream transport.
- GHG ProtocolScope 3 calculation guidance
Fuel-based, distance-based and spend-based methods.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Accounting and Reporting Standard
Own fleet in Scope 1.
- DESNZGovernment conversion factors for company reporting
Freight and fuel factors, one set per activity year.
- DESNZGreenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2026
Published 11 June 2026.
- DESNZ2026 conversion factors methodology paper, ¶1.10
Use the factors for the activity year.
- DESNZ2026 conversion factors: major changes report
Freight factor movements between years.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2008/410, Schedule 7 (SECR), including ¶20K
Transport fuel for journeys starting or ending in the UK.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2026/392, UK ETS extension to maritime activities
From 1 July 2026, ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above.
- DESNZParticipating in the UK ETS
Monitoring plans and verified reports by 31 March.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 006: carbon reduction plans
Includes Scope 3 categories 4 and 9 for major government contracts.
- DBTUK SRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (PDF)
Scope 3 for companies reporting against UK SRS.
- FCAPS26/19
Comply or explain for listed companies in five categories, periods from 1 January 2027.
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