Targets · emissions · action
Net zero software: connect the target to the evidence
Net zero software is a broad product category.
A platform may support emissions measurement, target tracking, reduction planning, transition disclosures or several of these jobs.
Build the requirements from the company’s chosen target and applicable reporting framework.
A vendor’s “net zero” label does not establish that a target is science-based, validated or achieved.
From inventory to action
What should a net-zero system produce?
Separate the emissions inventory from the target and the action plan.
For each one, identify the organisational boundary, period, source data, methodology, assumptions, owner and evidence needed to reproduce the result.
Evidence chain
Inventory
Evidence chain
Target
Evidence chain
Action
Evidence chain
Progress
The carbon accounting route covers emissions calculations in more depth; the company's emissions inventory remains the starting record for the target workflow.
Target status
Does the software validate a net-zero target?
No. The SBTi validates company targets, not software.
Its criteria and target-setting tools are the authority for submissions to its validation service.
Ask a vendor to identify which criteria version its workflow reflects, how it handles boundary changes and recalculations, and how a reviewer can reproduce the target inputs.
Keep the validation status separate from the platform’s own progress dashboard.
Plans and disclosures
How does a net-zero system support a transition plan?
A target is not the same thing as a transition plan.
If a company uses software for planning, test whether it can connect actions, decision owners, dependencies, expected resources, metrics and actual progress to the relevant disclosures.
The UK government’s transition-plan consultation has not created a general legal duty to buy software or publish a plan.
For the reporting question, use the relevant TCFD and UK SRS transition guidance and transition-plan requirements.
Carbon-neutrality records
What should software record for carbon-neutrality claims?
Keep the claim’s standard and edition, boundary, calculation, reduction evidence, credit details, verification record and the period the claim covers together.
This lets a reviewer distinguish a historical verification from a current basis.
Version status matters: PAS 2060 was withdrawn in December 2025, and ISO withdrew ISO 14068-1:2023 on 11 September 2026.
ISO 14068:2026 is its successor; the ISO catalogue records reviewed for the source library disagree on publication stage, so this page does not claim a publication day or imply that software itself certifies or verifies conformity.
For the underlying standards and carbon-credit workflow, see the carbon management software guide.
Vendor statements
What do vendors say their platforms support?
Salesforce describes Net Zero Cloud as supporting sustainability data, emissions analysis, reporting and scenario work.
Net Zero Now describes its platform as supporting business climate action and emissions reporting.
These are descriptions from the vendors’ own pages.
They are not rankings or independent assessments; test the relevant outputs with your own data and reporting scope.
Before you choose
What should you test in a demo?
One target, four tests
Method
One target, four tests
Boundary
One target, four tests
Progress
One target, four tests
Export
Ask what remains outside the platform: source-system controls, assurance, SBTi submission, board decisions and implementation of reduction measures.
Software demo · evidence check
Net-zero workflow demo coverage
Tick a test only when the vendor has demonstrated it with a representative record and shown the evidence or export.
0 of 4 tests demonstrated (0%). This is a checklist result, not a score for the vendor.
Still to test: Reproduce one inventory figure from its sources and method; Show target criteria, boundary and base year; Separate measured reductions from forecasts and credits; Export actions, progress, assumptions and change history.
Illustrative buyer case
How might a UK services group test a software claim?
Illustrative only: a UK services group wants to manage an emissions inventory, a target and a transition plan, while keeping measured reductions distinct from forecasts and credits.
One record, checked end to end
Source
One record, checked end to end
Method
One record, checked end to end
Review
One record, checked end to end
Output
Order of work
What should happen before a software decision?
Buyer sequence
1. Set boundary and baseline
Buyer sequence
2. Choose inventory method
Buyer sequence
3. Connect target criteria
Buyer sequence
4. Track actions and disclose
Decision points
What should the buyer carry into the decision?
- An inventory needs a defined boundary: record entities and periods.
- A target tool does not validate a target: check SBTi’s own process.
- A forecast is not an achieved reduction: label the status.
Ask the vendor to trace one inventory item through a target and a reported action.
Choose a net-zero platform by whether it can connect the company’s target, actions and reported progress to reproducible evidence.
Frequently asked
Net zero software questions, answered
What does net zero software do?
Products may combine emissions data, target setting, reduction planning, progress tracking and reporting.
Those are different jobs: ask a vendor to demonstrate the specific workflow you need and identify the method and evidence behind its outputs.
Does net zero software set a science-based target?
A platform can help prepare inputs or track progress, but the SBTi’s criteria and official tools govern target setting and validation.
The SBTi validates company targets, not software products.
Is net zero software required by UK law?
No general UK law requires a particular net-zero software product.
Reporting duties may require information from the company; they do not approve a software vendor.
How is net-zero software different from carbon accounting software?
Carbon accounting focuses on compiling and calculating emissions.
Net-zero software may add target pathways, reduction initiatives and progress monitoring.
Some vendors combine these functions, so compare the output rather than the category name.
What should I check in a net-zero software demo?
Trace one emissions figure from source record through boundary, method, factor, review and export.
Then demonstrate how the tool records a target, an action, an owner, a baseline and progress without implying that the software validates the target.
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.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Standard
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
- GHG ProtocolScope 3 Calculation Guidance
- GHG ProtocolScope 2 Guidance
- SBTiCorporate Near-Term Criteria
- SBTiCorporate Net-Zero Standard
- SBTiStandards and guidance
- SBTiTarget Dashboard
- DBTUK Sustainability Reporting Standard S2
- FCAPolicy Statement PS26/19
- DESNZClimate-related transition plan requirements: implementation routes
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures
- ISOISO 14064-1:2018 Greenhouse gases
- ISOISO 14068:2026 Carbon neutrality
- BSIPAS 2060 carbon neutrality
- DESNZGreenhouse gas reporting: conversion factors 2026
- SalesforceNet Zero Cloud
Vendor-described product scope and features.
- Net Zero NowPlatform
Vendor-described platform and workflows.