Software · pension scheme climate, buyer’s guide
Pension scheme climate software: a trustee buyer’s guide
Pension scheme climate software collects data from a scheme’s fund managers and calculates the metrics and scenario analysis trustees must publish under SI 2021/839.
This page lists 16 platforms that describe financed-emissions work, in their own words, with the demo questions trustees and advisers should ask.
The duty itself is set out on pension scheme climate reporting software.
Who buys
Who buys pension scheme climate software, and who holds the data?
Trustees carry the duty, but they rarely run the software themselves.
Under SI 2021/839, trustees of in-scope schemes must run TCFD-aligned climate governance and publish a report within seven months of each scheme year-end.
In practice the calculation sits with an investment consultant, the administrator or a fund manager, so the buying question is often which service the trustees appoint.
Whoever runs it, the trustees should be able to get the data and workings back, which UK GDPR Article 28 requires a processor contract to provide for at the end of the service.
- 1
Managers
Supply holdings and emissions data.
- 2
Platform
Applies PCAF and calculates the metrics.
- 3
Adviser
Runs scenario analysis and drafts.
- 4
Trustees
Approve and publish within seven months.
What it must calculate
What must pension scheme climate software produce each year?
At least four metrics, and scenario analysis on a three-year cycle.
DWP’s statutory guidance asks for one absolute emissions, one intensity, one portfolio alignment and one additional climate metric, at ¶118.
Scenario analysis is required in the first scheme year and at least every three scheme years after that, at ¶84.
The financed-emissions method most platforms use is the PCAF Standard, so ask how each one assigns asset classes and data quality scores.
Four metrics, one cycle
Portfolio alignment
Before you appoint
Which questions should trustees put to a climate data platform?
Each question beside this names its source and what a passing answer looks like.
Bring holdings and data for two real managers, including one with mostly estimated figures.
The scope and penalty rules are on pension scheme climate reporting software.
Nothing here is a rating, ranking or recommendation.
Trustee climate 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 describe financed-emissions work, in their own words?
Every vendor this site files under financed emissions, alphabetically, which ranks nothing. Each describes its offer clearly, which makes a first shortlist quick.
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.
16 platforms, own words
Manager data
16 platforms, own words
Alignment metric
Spreadsheet or software
When is a spreadsheet enough for a trustee climate report?
A scheme with a few managers who supply clean, dated data can build the metrics in a spreadsheet with the PCAF method.
Platforms earn their place with many managers, pooled and look-through funds, and restatements year on year.
The calculator beside this compares your adviser 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 reporting year
What does a reporting year with climate software look like for trustees?
Request manager data straight after the year-end, because the slowest manager sets the timetable.
Leave time for trustee review before the seven-month deadline.
Publication is the trigger for the mandatory penalty, so record the date the report goes live and the link reported to the regulator.
One scheme year
Year-end
One scheme year
Manager data
For the trustees
The duty is the trustees’ even when the data is someone else’s
Appoint the platform or adviser that can show where every figure came from and hand it all back.
Takeaways
Pension scheme climate software in five facts
| Fact | What to do |
|---|---|
| Schemes of £1bn+, master trusts and CDC schemes are in scope | Confirm scope before buying |
| At least four metrics are required | Test all four in the demo |
| Scenario analysis runs on a three-year cycle | Check the tool records when it is next due |
| Not publishing triggers a mandatory penalty of at least £2,500 | Track publication as closely as content |
| The trustees keep the duty | Agree how data comes back at the end |
Next: read pension scheme climate reporting for the full duty.
Frequently asked
Pension scheme climate software, answered
What is pension scheme climate software?
Software that collects climate data from a scheme’s fund managers, calculates the metrics and scenario analysis trustees must report, and helps publish the annual report required by SI 2021/839.
The sibling guide on pension scheme climate reporting software sets out the duty; this page helps choose a platform.
Which pension scheme climate software is best?
This site has tested no product and names no best.
The platforms listed describe their financed-emissions work in their own words; shortlist by asset classes and manager coverage, then run the demo questions on your own holdings.
Who usually buys the software: trustees or their advisers?
Often the investment consultant or the fund manager runs the calculation and the trustees buy the service.
The duty stays with the trustees, so ask who holds the data and how you get it back.
Which schemes are in scope?
Schemes with relevant assets of £1 billion or more, and all authorised master trusts and authorised collective defined contribution schemes.
A scheme that falls below £500 million stops the ongoing requirements but must publish one final report.
How many metrics must the software calculate?
At least four, under DWP’s statutory guidance: one absolute emissions metric, one emissions intensity metric, one portfolio alignment metric and one additional climate metric.
How often is scenario analysis required?
In the first scheme year the requirements apply and at least every three scheme years after that, under DWP’s statutory guidance.
What happens if the report is not published?
The Pensions Regulator must issue a penalty notice of at least £2,500 where a report is not published on a free, public website.
Penalties are capped at £5,000 for an individual and £50,000 for a body corporate.
How many schemes have had to report?
The Pensions Regulator’s 2025 climate adaptation report said around 300 DB, DC and hybrid schemes had had to prepare TCFD reports.
Do local government pension schemes have to report?
A consultation on climate reporting for the LGPS in England and Wales closed on 24 November 2022 and no outcome had been published on this site’s record.
Check the current position before buying for an LGPS fund.
Is pension scheme reporting the same as UK SRS?
No. UK SRS applies to companies, and under FCA PS26/19 listed companies in five listing categories report on a comply-or-explain basis.
The trustee duty under SI 2021/839 is separate, and DWP said it would review the 2021 Regulations, considering the role of UK SRS.
Can a spreadsheet do it?
For a small number of managers who provide clean, dated data, a spreadsheet with the PCAF method can.
Software helps with many managers, look-through funds and year-on-year restatements.
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.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2021/839, Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations 2021
The trustee duty and the scope thresholds.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2021/839, regulation 9
The mandatory penalty for not publishing, at least £2,500.
- DWPStatutory guidance for trustees on climate change risk, ¶¶84 and 118
Scenario analysis every three years; four metrics.
- The Pensions RegulatorClimate-related governance and reporting
TPR’s guidance for trustees.
- The Pensions RegulatorAppendix 2: when schemes are subject to the requirements
The £5bn, £1bn and £500m tests.
- The Pensions RegulatorMonetary penalties policy, Appendix 3
How TPR approaches climate regulation breaches.
- The Pensions RegulatorClimate adaptation report 2025
About 300 schemes have had to prepare TCFD reports.
- MHCLGLGPS (England and Wales): governance and reporting of climate change risks
Consultation closed 24 November 2022; no outcome published.
- DBTExposure draft of UK SRS S1 and S2 (June 2025)
Where DWP’s review of the 2021 Regulations was announced.
- PCAFThe Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry
The common method for financed emissions.
- GHG ProtocolCorporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard
Category 15, investments.
- DBTUK SRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (PDF)
The company standard, separate from the trustee duty.
- FCAPS26/19 — UK SRS reporting by listed companies
Comply or explain for listed issuers, not pension schemes.
- SBTiScience Based Targets initiative
Often used as a portfolio alignment reference.
- legislation.gov.ukUK GDPR, Article 28
The processor contract for a platform holding member or scheme data.