Perseus Constellation – Icebreaker One

The Perseus Constellation is a group of leaders from across sectors and disciplines. Its mission is to unlock billions in green investments by designing the rules of the game: to unlock assurable, reliable data flow that leads to comparable, meaningful emissions reporting. This will allow millions of SME businesses better understand their emissions, and their banks and lenders help them accelerate the transition to Net Zero.

Perseus Steering Group

The steering group consists of market-neutral trade associations and public sector bodies. It provides public backing and sign-off to ensure the project is delivering on sector-wide needs for the public good. The steering group is co-chaired by the British Business Bank (Tony Greenham) and Icebreaker One (Gavin Starks).

Perseus Commercial Members

Project members contribute to the project via our five Advisory Groups, providing expert input to the implementation team on user needs, technical approach, legal, communication and policy impacts. Advisory Groups are co-chaired by an industry representative and an Icebreaker One domain expert.

Testimonials

Jonathan Geldart – Director General, Institute of Directors:
“More and more small and medium-sized businesses want to be part of the race to net zero, but currently face challenges when seeking to measure and report their carbon footprint. By developing a solution to automate greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting for every SME in the UK, banks will be able to better manage climate risk and SMEs will gain improved access to capital to invest in net zero. We are delighted to be a member of the Perseus Steering Group, supporting the project’s work to keep us on the pathway to a healthy, growing net-zero economy.”

Rt Hon Graham Stuart MP, Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero:
“The Government is supporting the Project Perseus initiative with its inclusion in the Green Finance Strategy 2023 and via the British Business Bank, which co-chairs the project’s Steering Committee. The project has already attracted immense international interest, with institutions including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Energy Council, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and the International Chambers of Commerce sitting as observers on the steering committee. Further international counterparts are in the process of joining. The project will also play a key role in supporting the work of the newly-established Net Zero Council, which I co-Chair with Shirine Khoury-Haq, the CEO of Co-op.

George Sandilands, VP Sage Earth, Sage:
“Perseus is laying the foundations that will automate reliable, high-resolution reporting data directly relating to small business emissions. It will revolutionise the ease and accuracy with which small businesses can measure, manage, report and reduce their emissions, helping them to access finance, supply businesses and public sector organisations with decarbonisation commitments and, most importantly, reduce their impact on our climate.”

Karen Ellis, Chief Economist, WWF UK:
“WWF supports Perseus as a core effort in facilitating credible corporate sustainability disclosure. As the beating heart of the UK economy, SMEs must be supported in the transition to a net zero future. Perseus’ effort to simplify sustainability reporting for small businesses and enable cross-industry collaboration is a crucial element of the decarbonisation architecture required to ensure the UK reaches its emissions reduction targets. Access to robust data is critical for financial institutions on their journey to net zero and supports credible, impactful transition plans. We look forward to seeing this pilot programme take off.”

Nick Carmont Zaragoza, CTO and Co-Founder, Connect Earth:
“I think the Perseus project will have a vast impact in standardizing and facilitating emissions reporting and reduction.”

James Close, Head of Climate Change, NatWest Group:
“The Perseus programme is the next step in making emissions reporting simpler for small businesses. By automating greenhouse gas reporting for UK SMEs, this programme takes the stress and complexity out of the reporting process for small businesses, while providing standardised and comparable reporting data to unlock investment in the transition.”

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