Trace – A Carbon Management Platform Empowering SMEs to Measure Emissions, Define Decarbonisation Pathways and Build a Sustainability Culture

To avoid catastrophic costs of climate change, businesses need to reduce their carbon emissions by 7.6% every year (UN). Small-medium businesses make up 97.3% of all Australian businesses, produce one-third of the total GDP, and employ 4.7 million people. If Australia is going to hit our net zero target, SMEs will need to play an integral role. Yet only 7.7% of SMEs have a plan to reduce emissions. While 8 in 10 say it’s important, they feel that costs are too high and the path is too complex.

Easy carbon measurement and data-driven recommendations are key to helping SMEs reduce their carbon emissions. Through integrations with accounting software and an AI emissions category mapping, Trace helps SMEs measure their carbon footprint in hours instead of weeks. Through design research, prototyping and testing We Discover designed a new tool to help businesses overcome the complexity in decarbonisation planning. The platform harnesses businesses footprint data to automatically identify and prioritise emission reduction opportunities based on their unique profile.

By making carbon management as easy as possible for SMEs by using Trace’s digital platform, there have been over 1000 carbon footprints measured. At the same time, Trace has taken the complexity out of the net zero journey and enabled 300+ businesses to build a decarbonisation plan, as well as offsetting 127,185 tonnes of carbon while supporting biodiversity and conservation projects across Australia, South East Asia and the Pacific. The success and impact of Trace in Australia has seen 20% revenue growth in Q1 2024, including expansion to the UK, EU, US & Middle East.

In an era where sustainability is increasingly becoming a focal point for businesses of all sizes, empowering SMEs to effectively measure and reduce their carbon footprint is paramount. Trace’s innovative solution offers a range of key features tailored to meet the unique needs of SMEs: - Integration with Xero: Seamlessly integrate with Xero, the #1 accounting platform for SMEs, streamlining data input and significantly reducing the time and effort required for carbon measurement. - AI Emissions Category Mapping Engine: Powered by an AI emissions category mapping engine developed from Trace Sustainability Expertise and trained on datasets from SMEs across Australia, the Trace platform automatically categorises business expenses, simplifying the complexities of carbon measurement. - Personalised Emissions Reduction Recommendations: Receive personalised emissions reduction recommendations based on your individual footprint, offering actionable insights to drive meaningful decarbonisation efforts. - Automated Sustainability Reporting: Complemented by automated sustainability reporting tools, even SMEs lacking in-house expertise can authentically and credibly share their journey towards achieving net-zero emissions, without the risk of greenwashing. With Trace’s comprehensive suite of features, the platform aims to revolutionise the way SMEs approach sustainability, making it more accessible, efficient, and impactful than ever before.