Perseus

Unlocking sustainable finance
with assurable smart data

The UK's first national cross-sector Smart Data Scheme

Perseus has the potential to unlock a £5-10bn opportunity in embedded sustainable finance. With incentives that can radically reduce reporting costs, Perseus accelerates capital into energy efficiency, lowers carbon intensity, and enables new financial innovation on resilience and adaptation. Led by 70 commercial members, including 12 banks and lenders.

70+ commercial members 12 banks and lenders £5-10bn addressable market Live sandbox Cross-sector Smart Data Scheme

Around half of UK business emissions are produced by 5.5 million SMEs. Perseus creates the rules and processes that make automated sustainability reporting possible for every SME, unlocking access to green finance at scale. It is not a climate pledge: it is infrastructure for embedded sustainable finance.

Vision

From financing green to embedded sustainable finance

Perseus enables automated emissions reporting for every SME in the UK. With the SME’s permission, their energy data flows automatically into their accounting platform and to their lender. No spreadsheets, no data entry, no consultants: they get a verified emissions baseline, access to sustainable finance products, and a credible sustainability story for their customers and supply chain.

Automates reporting

Perseus enables products and services such as accounting platforms, emissions calculators, and reporting software to deliver higher-quality emissions data at scale. This informs investment decisions, enables targeted decarbonisation interventions, and reduces reporting burdens.

Unlocks green finance

By connecting assured energy data to financial services, Perseus enables banks and lenders to offer sustainable finance products with confidence. It expands the total addressable market from specialist green lending to mainstream embedded sustainable finance across debt, credit, savings, and asset finance.

Cross-sector by design

Perseus is the first national cross-sector Smart Data Scheme, aligned with the UK Data (Use and Access) Act. It demonstrates the value of an interoperable approach to smart data sharing, connecting energy data providers, carbon accounting platforms, and financial service providers under common governance.

Infrastructure, not a product

Perseus is not a single product but shared data infrastructure that enables a market of products and services. IB1 operates it as a non-profit public benefit: the rules are open, the governance is transparent, and the infrastructure is available to all verified participants.

UK Government

“The Net Zero Council welcomes innovative programmes such as Perseus that help simplify and automate emissions reporting and unlock access to finance for SMEs.”

UK Net Zero Council
How it works

Assured smart data at market scale

Perseus operationalises one granular use case: the sharing of 30-minute electricity consumption data, combined with corresponding 30-minute local grid carbon intensity readings, to calculate verified Scope 2 emissions for any SME with a smart meter.

Step 1
Energy Data Providers

Energy suppliers and data intermediaries provide half-hourly electricity consumption data via the Trust Framework. Data flows are permissioned, assured, and auditable.

Step 2
Carbon Accounting Platforms

Accounting platforms and emissions calculators receive the consumption data and combine it with grid carbon intensity to produce verified Scope 2 emissions reports. These flow directly into the SME’s existing tools.

Step 3
Financial Service Providers

Banks, lenders, and financial platforms receive assured emissions data to inform lending decisions, offer sustainable finance products, and meet their own disclosure requirements. 12 banks and lenders are currently members.

Governance
IB1 Trust Services

IB1 operates the Trust Framework: Registry, Directory, Catalogue, Sandbox, and compliance monitoring. IB1 never sees the underlying data. Rules are co-designed through Icebreaking and codified in machine-readable format.

Development Bank of Wales

“We are participating in the pilot to demonstrate use cases of Perseus in Green investment, using Perseus derived emissions data in our due diligence for green business loans. We think that Perseus is a feasible market solution to scale assurable SME carbon accounting and disclosures.”

Matthew Kelly, Sustainability Manager, Development Bank of Wales
2025 progress

From pilot to market scale

Perseus is evolving from ‘financing green’ to embedded sustainable finance, expanding the total addressable market and enabling Perseus to be applied across the whole SME market.

Perseus 2025 Report

2025 Annual Report

Read about the progress of Perseus in 2025 and the plans for 2026. Covers the evolution to embedded sustainable finance, sandbox launch, Open Banking integration, and XBRL outputs.

£5-10B
Potential addressable market in embedded sustainable finance
70+
Commercial members co-designing and implementing the Scheme
12
Banks and lenders participating, including Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, and Triodos
1M+
Estimated potential reach of UK SMEs via existing members
70%
Of use cases covered by current member organisations
Live
Sandbox running in production parity for Carbon Accounting Platforms and Energy Data Providers
Three roles

Who participates in Perseus

Perseus is a cross-sector coalition. Members participate in one of three roles, each shaping a different part of the data flow. All members join via IB1 Membership and participate in Advisory Groups through Icebreaking.

Energy Data Providers

Energy suppliers and data intermediaries who provide half-hourly consumption data. They connect smart meter data to the Trust Framework and make it available to Carbon Accounting Platforms with the SME’s permission.

Carbon Accounting Platforms

Accounting software, emissions calculators, and reporting tools that receive consumption data and produce verified emissions reports. They deliver insights directly into the SME’s existing business tools.

Financial Service Providers

Banks, lenders, fintechs, and financial platforms that use assured emissions data to inform lending decisions, offer sustainable finance products, and meet their own net zero commitments. First choice for market-scale data powered by Perseus.

Governance

Co-designed by the market, operated by a non-profit

Perseus has convened an outstanding constellation of stakeholders to co-design and implement the solution. Governance operates through a Steering Group and five Advisory Groups covering purpose, technical infrastructure, legal, communications, and policy.

Oversight
Steering Group

Government, national and supranational non-profits providing strategic direction. Includes observers from DESNZ, Cabinet Office, FCA, and NESO.

Design
Advisory Groups

Commercial members lead Advisory and Working Groups to shape implementation across all five Icebreaking domains. Open recruitment ensures broad sector representation.

Operation
IB1 Trust Services

IB1 provides neutral secretariat, programme management, and operates the Trust Framework infrastructure. All outputs are CC-BY licensed. Full governance details.

“Perseus makes it easier for everyone to do their carbon calculations properly, and comfortably moves us years ahead of the most stringent proposed updates to the GHG Protocol.”

George Sandilands, Vice President, Sage Earth
Join Perseus

Ready to join the UK’s first cross-sector Smart Data Scheme?

Whether you are an energy data provider, carbon accounting platform, financial service provider, or supporting organisation, Perseus is open to new members. Contact us to discuss which role fits your organisation.

Contact perseus@ib1.org Read the 2025 report

All Perseus outputs are CC-BY licensed. IB1 is non-partisan, non-profit, and sector-neutral.