Quick Answer: If you are weighing up Positive Planet, the alternatives worth knowing are Seedling (full-scope carbon management software with a dedicated expert included, built for businesses up to around 2,000 employees), Greenly (an accessible platform with broad framework coverage and EU reporting support), Planet Mark (a consultancy and certification scheme run as an annual membership), Plan A (an enterprise platform focused on CSRD and wider ESG reporting), and Carbon Trust (technical guidance for teams with sustainability resource in-house). The decision usually comes down to one question: do you want a hands-on consultancy, a self-serve platform, or the middle ground of software with an expert alongside you?
At a Glance: Positive Planet's Model
Positive Planet is a Manchester-based sustainability consultancy that supports businesses across measurement, reduction, training, compliance, and communication. Its services are organised into five areas: Measure, Reduce, Engage, Comply, and Communicate. The team measures Scope 1, Scope 2, and upstream Scope 3 emissions as standard, with downstream Scope 3 available as an extra where relevant. Alongside footprinting, they offer Life Cycle Assessments, Environmental Product Declarations, Carbon Scenario Modelling, and Carbon Literacy training, plus their own Positive Planet certification for businesses that want to communicate their progress.
It is a credible, well-established offer, and the consulting model has real strengths. For complex, one-off pieces of work, a hands-on consultancy can be exactly what you need. Life Cycle Assessments and EPDs in particular benefit from specialist input, and bespoke advice from an experienced team is valuable when your requirements sit outside the standard footprint.
The trade-off is in how the work gets delivered. Positive Planet is primarily a consultancy rather than a software platform. That means more of the process runs through calls, emails, and shared documents than through a self-serve system you log into and own. In practice, that can make the process less efficient than working with a platform: turnaround depends on consultant availability, data collection is more manual, and your footprint tends to live in the consultant's systems rather than yours.
Year-on-year repeatability is where this matters most. With a platform, your data, footprint, and reports sit in one place, ready to update and reuse each cycle. With a consultancy, each reporting period can feel closer to a fresh project, with the time and cost that implies. And when a client or investor asks for a compliance report, a platform can generate it in the required format in a click, whereas a consultancy produces it as a deliverable on its own timeline.
There is a common assumption worth challenging here. Many businesses think the choice is between a cheap self-serve tool with no help, or an expensive consultant who does everything for you. However, the strongest option for most growing businesses is software paired with genuine expert support, which gives you the guidance of a consultant alongside the speed, data ownership, and repeatability of a platform.
This guide covers five alternatives, who each one suits, and how they compare to Positive Planet.
The 5 Best Positive Planet Alternatives
1. Seedling: Best for Businesses That Want Expert Support and Platform Efficiency
Website: seedling.earth
Best for: Businesses up to ~2,000 employees wanting accurate, expert-guided carbon management without a full consulting overhead
Pricing: Subscription pricing; see seedling.earth/pricing
Seedling is carbon management software built for businesses of up to around 2,000 employees. It pairs a platform you log into with a named carbon expert who works alongside you, so you get the rigour of a consultancy and the speed of software in one place. Measurement covers Scopes 1, 2, and 3 to the GHG Protocol standard. Spend data has its place as a way in, but Seedling is designed around activity data, the real-world inputs like energy use, mileage, employee commuting, supplier responses, and material weights. The payoff is a footprint that mirrors what your business actually does, and figures that drop as you cut emissions rather than simply tracking invoices.
What sets it apart from a consultancy is that nothing leaves your hands. Your expert helps gather data, builds a costed plan to decarbonise, and supports SBTi-aligned target-setting, but your footprint, targets, and reports all sit in a platform you own and can pick up again next year in minutes. Every output is reviewed and assured by the Seedling team, and flows straight into the reports you need for SECR, B Corp, PPN 006, EcoVadis, ISO 14064, and more.
Connections to Xero, Sage, and QuickBooks pull your financial data in to sit beside the activity data, and a first footprint typically lands in two to four weeks for around a day of your team's time. As a certified B Corp trusted by 500+ businesses, with a 95% client retention rate, Seedling is built for businesses that want credible carbon data without turning it into a second job.
What it does well:
- Full-scope GHG Protocol measurement (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) built on activity data, not just spend estimates
- A dedicated carbon expert included as standard, combined with a self-serve platform
- Compliance-ready reports for SECR, PPN 006, B Corp, EcoVadis, ISO 14064, and SBTi, generated in the format you need
- Built-in employee survey and supplier engagement tools
- Your data and reports stay in one place, ready to reuse year on year
Where it differs from Positive Planet:
Both Seedling and Positive Planet provide expert support, so the real difference is the delivery model. Positive Planet delivers carbon work as a consulting service. Seedling pairs that expert support with a platform you log into and own, which makes data collection, reporting, and annual updates faster and more repeatable. For businesses that want rigour and guidance without a project-based consulting timeline, Seedling is the more efficient fit.
2. Greenly: Best for Broad Framework Coverage and EU Reporting
Website: greenly.earth
Best for: Growing businesses with EU reporting requirements or broad framework needs
Pricing: From approximately £5,000 per year
Greenly is a French carbon accounting platform with a library of more than 300,000 emission factors and integrations with over 100 tools, including Xero. It offers a quick online calculator as an entry point, and covers key frameworks including CSRD, SBTi, and CDP. Its supplier engagement feature can send automated data requests to large numbers of suppliers at once, which helps businesses with significant Scope 3 supply chain exposure.
Like Seedling, Greenly is a platform rather than a consultancy, so the data collection and reporting experience is self-serve and repeatable. Its framework coverage is broad, with particular strength for businesses operating across the EU. The full platform sits closer to enterprise pricing than some SME-focused tools, which can feel like a step up for smaller teams.
What it does well:
- Extensive emission factors library and broad framework coverage
- Supplier engagement at scale
- CSRD, SBTi, and CDP-aligned reporting
- Strong European market presence
Where it differs from Positive Planet:
Greenly is a software platform first, where Positive Planet is a consultancy first. For businesses with EU operations and broad disclosure needs that want to run the process themselves, Greenly offers more self-serve capability. Positive Planet's edge is in bespoke, hands-on work such as LCAs and EPDs.
3. Planet Mark: Best for a Consultancy and Certification Membership
Website: planetmark.com
Best for: Businesses that want a recognised certification alongside ongoing consultancy support
Pricing: Annual membership; available on enquiry
Planet Mark is the closest like-for-like to Positive Planet on this list. It combines net zero consultancy with a well-known certification, delivered through an annual membership it calls the Net Zero Certification Programme. The model is built around measuring, engaging, and communicating, with certified milestones at each stage, and covers reporting standards including SECR and CSRD. For businesses that value an externally recognised badge and want a structured, supported programme to work through, it is a strong option.
The considerations are similar to those for any consultancy-led model. The certification carries brand value, but the underlying measurement and reporting work is delivered as a service rather than through a platform you own, so repeatability and self-serve reporting are more limited than with software.
What it does well:
- Recognised certification with strong brand awareness
- Structured annual programme with defined milestones
- Consultancy support built into the membership
- SECR and CSRD reporting coverage
Where it differs from Positive Planet:
Planet Mark and Positive Planet are close competitors, both pairing consultancy with their own certification. The main differences come down to the specifics of each programme, the certification's market recognition, and how each team works with you. Neither is a self-serve software platform in the way Seedling or Greenly is.
4. Plan A: Best for Larger Enterprises with CSRD and Wider ESG Reporting
Website: plana.earth
Best for: Mid-to-large and enterprise organisations with EU regulatory and broad ESG reporting needs
Pricing: Available on enquiry
Plan A is a Berlin-based platform, founded in 2017. It measures Scopes 1, 2, and 3 to the GHG Protocol, with TÜV-certified methodology, and is both SBTi-validated and a certified B Corp. Where it really concentrates is regulatory breadth: CSRD and the ESRS, IFRS and ISSB, TCFD, SFDR, and the EU Taxonomy, supported by AI features for data mapping, anomaly detection, and scenario modelling. Its client list, which includes BMW, Deutsche Bank, Visa, and the European Union itself, tells you who it is built for.
That heritage is the thing to weigh up. Plan A is aimed at larger and enterprise organisations carrying serious EU disclosure obligations, and the depth, breadth, and price reflect that. For a UK mid-market business whose priorities are SECR, a PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan, B Corp, or a client data request, much of that enterprise ESG machinery goes unused, and the cost can be hard to justify against simpler UK-focused needs.
What it does well:
- Extensive regulatory coverage (CSRD, ESRS, IFRS/ISSB, TCFD, SFDR, EU Taxonomy)
- TÜV-certified methodology, SBTi-validated, and a certified B Corp
- AI-supported data handling and scenario modelling
- Strong fit for large, multi-entity organisations across Europe
Where it differs from Positive Planet:
The two sit at opposite ends of the scale. Positive Planet is a UK consultancy delivering hands-on work, including product-level studies like LCAs and EPDs, to businesses of varying sizes. Plan A is an enterprise software platform geared towards large corporates navigating EU reporting law. A UK mid-market business is likely to find Positive Planet more accessible than Plan A on price and scope.
5. Carbon Trust: Best for Teams with Internal Sustainability Resource
Website: carbontrust.com
Best for: Organisations with a sustainability lead comfortable with technical documentation
Pricing: Many resources free; tailored support at consultancy rates
The Carbon Trust is one of the most established names in UK sustainability, and its emissions offer reflects that. Rather than a sign-in-and-go platform, it hands you the raw materials: detailed guidance, calculation spreadsheets, and supporting tools, plus tailored consultancy for those who want it. In the right hands the methodology is rigorous enough to build a full-scope inventory that stands behind recognised standards.
The catch is that those raw materials need working. The templates assume someone in the business can read the guidance, structure the data, and run the numbers without much hand-holding. If you have a sustainability lead or a capable QHSE manager, that can be a cost-effective route. If you do not, the free toolkit can be heavy going, and you would likely lean on the paid consultancy to get over the line.
What it does well:
- Rigorous, well-respected measurement methodology
- Free guidance and calculation templates to download
- Capable of a full-scope inventory when the resources are worked through properly
Where it differs from Positive Planet:
The Carbon Trust offers a recognised toolkit plus consultancy, where Positive Planet delivers a fuller managed service. For teams with internal resources, the Carbon Trust can be more cost-effective. For teams without it, a managed consultancy or a supported platform will be easier to run.
How We Chose These Platforms
Every option in this list was assessed on its relevance to small and mid-sized businesses evaluating Positive Planet. We looked at four things: the quality and scope of carbon measurement methodology, the level of expert support available, the practicality of onboarding and ongoing use for non-specialist teams, and the transparency of pricing. We deliberately included a mix of software platforms, consultancies, and hybrids, because the right answer depends on whether you want to run the process yourself, hand it over entirely, or take the middle ground of software with an expert alongside you.
FAQs
Is Positive Planet a software platform or a consultancy?
Positive Planet is primarily a sustainability consultancy. It delivers carbon footprinting, reduction planning, training, compliance support, and certification as services, supported by a project management tool to track progress. This suits businesses that want bespoke, hands-on work, particularly for Life Cycle Assessments and Environmental Product Declarations. For businesses that want a self-serve platform they own and can reuse each year, a software-led option such as Seedling will usually be more efficient.
Do I have to choose between expert support and a platform?
This is the most common misconception when businesses compare consultancies with software. A consultancy gives you support but no platform, while some self-serve tools give you a platform but no support. Seedling provides both: a dedicated carbon expert guides you through the process, and the work happens inside a platform you log into, so your data and reports stay in one place and are quick to update.
Which option is best for a PPN 006 Carbon Reduction Plan?
If you are bidding into the public sector or NHS, you need a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan in the PPN 006 format. Positive Planet and NetZero Group both support this through their services, and Seedling generates a compliant Carbon Reduction Plan directly from the platform, including Scope 1, 2, and the required Scope 3 categories, a Net Zero commitment, and reduction targets. For businesses that report regularly, generating the plan in-platform saves time each cycle.
What is the difference between spend-based and activity-based carbon accounting?
Spend-based methodology estimates emissions by multiplying what you spent on a category by an industry-average emission factor. It is a useful starting point because it uses financial data you already have. Activity-based methodology uses the actual physical quantities involved: kilowatt hours of electricity, litres of fuel, tonnes of materials, kilometres travelled. The GHG Protocol recognises both, but is clear that activity data produces more accurate results and should be used where available. Activity data also captures real reductions, because it tracks emissions output rather than expenditure.
Which option is best for a business measuring its footprint for the first time?
For businesses with no prior carbon data, a supported route reduces the risk of getting it wrong. A consultancy like Positive Planet will guide you, and a platform with expert support like Seedling does the same while giving you a system you keep. Seedling also offers a free entry-level version, Seedling Starter, so you can measure your first footprint before committing to a paid plan.
About Seedling
Seedling is carbon management software built for businesses that want accurate, expert-guided carbon accounting without the overhead of a consulting project or the limits of an unsupported tool. The platform covers full Scope 1, 2, and 3 measurement aligned with the GHG Protocol, going well beyond spend-based estimation to use the activity data that makes footprints accurate and reductions visible. Compliance-ready outputs cover SECR, B Corp, PPN 006, EcoVadis, ISO 14064, and SBTi. Every customer works with a dedicated carbon expert who supports measurement, builds a quantified decarbonisation plan, and tracks progress year on year. We are a certified B Corp, trusted by 500+ businesses, with a +95% client retention rate. Time to output is typically two to four weeks. Book a demo at seedling.earth/book-a-demo.
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