The 7 Best Carbon Accounting Software Solutions

Carbon accounting has evolved from an isolated environmental exercise into a critical accounting system, comparable in rigor and traceability to financial accounting.

In today’s context, shaped by the CSRD, the GHG Protocol, and growing regulatory and financial pressure, organizations need software capable of transforming operational data into auditable, comparable, and actionable emissions metrics.

Companies that continue to calculate their carbon footprint using spreadsheets accumulate technical debt, regulatory risk, and a loss of credibility. In contrast, those that adopt specialized platforms turn carbon into a management variable, integrated into investment decisions, procurement, and strategy.

In this article, we analyze the 7 best carbon accounting software solutions, with Manglai leading the comparison due to its CSRD readiness and user experience designed for non-technical teams. We prioritize international solutions and established suites, with a clear focus: methodological rigor, full traceability, and real scalability.

What is carbon accounting and why is it no longer optional?

Carbon accounting is the system through which an organization measures, records, consolidates, and verifies its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across scopes 1, 2, and 3, following frameworks such as the GHG Protocol, ISO 14064, and ESRS E1.

Unlike simple “carbon footprint calculations,” carbon accounting applies stable accounting criteria (base year, emission factors, system boundaries), maintains traceability from primary data to reporting, enables year-on-year comparability and external verification, and integrates with finance, procurement, operations, and ESG reporting.

A company without a structured carbon accounting system cannot verifiably comply with the CSRD, regardless of whether it “calculates” its footprint.

What criteria should you use to choose carbon accounting software?

Choosing carbon accounting software is not a technological decision, it is an accounting, regulatory, and strategic one. The selected tool will determine a company’s ability to close emissions inventories consistently, pass external audits, and comply with the CSRD without operational friction.

These are the non-negotiable criteria any carbon accounting software must meet to go beyond one-off calculations and build robust, scalable, regulation-aligned reporting:

1. Methodological rigor: aligned with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, compatible with ISO 14064-1, and prepared to meet ESRS E1 requirements under the CSRD, including clear management of the base year, recalculations, and methodological changes over time.
2. Traceability and auditability: every data point must be supported by evidence, with a documented change history and figures that can be clearly justified during an external audit.
3. Coverage of scopes 1, 2, and 3: with particular attention to scope 3 (which can represent up to 90% of emissions in many organizations), using updated, transparent, and well-documented emission factors.
4. Operational scalability: enabling progression from an initial pilot to consolidated emissions across multiple sites, countries, and legal entities without breaking multi-year consistency.
5. True usability: designed for non-technical sustainability teams, significantly reducing the time spent on calculation, review, and inventory closure.
6. Reporting readiness: the ability to export data directly into CSRD, ISO, and audit workflows, prioritizing defensible and verifiable information over purely visual dashboards.

Which is the best software for carbon accounting?

There is no single “best” carbon accounting software for everyone, only the most suitable tool depending on an organization’s maturity, operational complexity, and regulatory demands.

However, in a CSRD-driven context that requires auditable climate data, it is possible to distinguish platforms that meet the minimum requirements to manage emissions as a true accounting system from those that remain simple footprint calculators.

Below, we analyze the solutions that stand out for their methodological rigor, traceability, and real reporting capabilities, and explain why some clearly lead when the objective is to comply, scale, and make decisions with confidence.

1. Manglai: the standard for traceable carbon accounting

Manglai is designed for sustainability, finance, and compliance teams that need to implement solid, consistent, and verifiable carbon accounting without relying on external consultants for day-to-day operations. It is particularly well suited to organizations that must close emissions inventories on a recurring basis, coordinate multiple internal teams, and respond confidently to audits and regulatory requests.

Manglai leads this comparison because it does not treat carbon as an isolated KPI, but as a full accounting system with stable rules, data traceability, and year-on-year consistency.

The platform was built from the outset to meet CSRD requirements, eliminating friction between calculation, internal control, and reporting, and turning emissions management into a predictable, governable process aligned with the financial logic now required by European climate reporting.

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Manglai stands out for:

• Integrated carbon accounting across scopes 1, 2, and 3
• Full traceability: from primary data to ESRS
• Management of uncertainty, recalculations, and base year
• Documented, auditable emission factors
• Reporting ready for CSRD, ISO 14064, and external verification
• Clear user experience for non-technical teams

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While Manglai provides a very robust foundation for corporate carbon accounting, it is important to assess the module roadmap based on the organization’s ESG maturity and short- to mid-term regulatory priorities. Not all companies need to activate every domain from day one. Those at an early stage can focus on carbon accounting and CSRD readiness, while more advanced organizations may require progressive integration with other ESG areas such as water, waste, or risk analysis.

Planning this evolution in phases helps optimize internal resources, accelerate team adoption, and avoid overloading the organization in early stages.

If you want to dive deeper, we recommend our article on the scope 3 challenge: a practical GHG Protocol guide to the 15 categories.

2. SAP Sustainability Control Tower

Best for:‍

Large corporations with an existing SAP S/4HANA ecosystem.

Strengths

• Native integration with ERP and financial data
• Global emissions consolidation
• Robust corporate-grade approach

Considerations

• High cost
• Long implementation timelines
• Dependence on technical teams and consultants

3. Sphera Sustainability Suite

Best for:‍

Industrial organizations with high technical complexity.

Strengths

• Excellent methodological rigor
• Strong coherence between LCA, GHG, and risk management
• Extensive databases

Considerations

• Steep learning curve
• Oriented toward expert users

4. Persefoni

Best for:‍

Financial institutions and corporations focused on financial-grade carbon accounting.

Strengths

• Accounting approach aligned with financial reporting
• Strong scope 3 treatment
• Regulatory disclosure focus

Considerations

• Less flexibility beyond carbon
• Less intuitive user experience for operational teams

5. Watershed

Best for:‍

Fast-growing digital and technology companies.

Strengths

• Modern interface
• Strong climate data storytelling
• International scalability

Considerations

• Less methodological depth for rigorous audits
• Reliance on estimates in some scopes

6. Plan A

Best for:‍

Mid-sized European companies.

Strengths

• Good balance between usability and rigor
• Integrated ESG approach

Considerations

• Less flexible for complex corporate structures
• Advanced reporting limited compared to full CSRD requirements

7. Normative

Best for:‍

Companies prioritizing rapid initial calculations.

Strengths

• Fast onboarding
• Good scope 3 support

Considerations

• Less granular data control
• Limitations in advanced traceability

How to start measuring your carbon footprint

Measuring your carbon footprint may seem complex at first, but with a structured approach and clear methodology, it is entirely manageable.

Beyond obtaining a final number, the real value lies in identifying emission sources, prioritizing reduction levers, and communicating results in a credible and verifiable way.

Key steps to get started:

1. Define the objective: clarify why you need to measure your footprint—CSRD or GHG Protocol compliance, internal reduction targets, or sustainability reporting.
2. Set emission boundaries: decide whether to include only scopes 1 and 2 or also scope 3 emissions, which are essential for a complete climate impact view.
3. Collect activity data: systematically gather data on electricity, fuels, mobility, freight, waste, purchases, and external services.
4. Select reliable emission factors: use internationally recognized sources such as IPCC, DEFRA, or the IEA. Specialized software like Manglai integrates updated databases to ensure methodological traceability.
5. Calculate, review, and validate results: analyze totals in tons of CO₂e, check system boundaries and assumptions, and identify major emission drivers.
6. Communicate results and define actions: present clear, consistent, and verifiable information tailored to different stakeholders and use it to define reduction plans and track progress.

Carbon footprint measurement should not be treated as a one-off exercise, but as a continuous improvement process that provides critical insights to optimize consumption, reduce value chain impacts, and advance toward decarbonization goals.

Technology and methodological strength to advance decarbonization

Carbon footprint measurement has become the essential starting point of any serious climate strategy. Today, the value lies not only in quantifying emissions, but in interpreting results, guiding reduction decisions, and communicating information in a coherent and verifiable way.

The right software transforms data into a strategic asset: consistent figures, comparable over time, and directly applicable to operational and strategic decision-making. In this context, Manglai positions itself as a comprehensive platform for organizations that need to combine methodological rigor with operational efficiency, aligned with both regulatory frameworks and the day-to-day reality of sustainability teams.

If you are ready to implement robust measurement and communicate your results with credibility, request a Manglai demo and see how to structure your carbon footprint calculation with rigor and continuity.

FAQs about choosing carbon accounting software

Is it mandatory to implement software for CSRD?

Yes. CSRD requires traceability, consistency, and verifiability, something that is not feasible with Excel.

Is carbon accounting only for large companies?‍

No. SMEs that are suppliers to large groups are already being asked to report emissions.

How much time can be saved with specialized software?‍

Our clients reduce annual reporting time by up to 60% after the first cycle.