Perseus: automating emissions reporting to unlock finance for SMEs

Vision
Perseus will help unlock access to finance that reduces emissions faster by automating sustainability reporting for every SME business in the UK. Perseus will make it easy to share accurate, assurable data that sits behind emissions calculations to enable better analysis, action and impact.

The challenge

There are more than 5.5 million Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, accounting for around half of the country’s business greenhouse gas emissions. However, there is no common process to follow when reporting emissions, and many reports are based on inaccurate estimates. SMEs’ stakeholders like banks and corporate customers are therefore receiving low-quality data that is not comparable or actionable. Emissions reporting is currently a burdensome process for SMEs that prevents them from focusing on their core business.

The solution

Perseus enables automated emissions reporting for every SME in the UK, so that we can get to Net Zero faster. It creates the rules and processes that make automated reporting possible. These rules will enable products and services such as accounting platforms, emissions calculators, and reporting software to be developed that deliver higher-quality emissions data at scale. This will inform investment decisions, enable targeted decarbonisation interventions, reduce reporting burdens and unlock green finance. Bankers for Net Zero (B4NZ) and Icebreaker One are convening a cross-sector coalition to collaboratively shape the future of emissions reporting, ensuring that a wide range of stakeholder needs are met.

Leadership & governance

Perseus has convened an outstanding constellation of stakeholders to co-design and implement the solution (for more information on governance, see https://ib1.org/perseus/2024-governance).

Steering Group (government, national and supranational non-profits)