Measure Module

Activity-Based Carbon Calculations

Start measuring from day one using spend data, then improve your footprint over time as activity data comes in. Seedling's platform and expert advisers help you work with whatever you have - and get more precise with every passing year.
HOW IT WORKS

A footprint that gets more accurate over time

Spend-based calculations are a perfectly good starting point - but activity-based data gives you a footprint that genuinely reflects what your business does. Seedling is built to support both, so you can begin straight away and sharpen your numbers progressively, without rebuilding your inventory from scratch each year.

In-Built Data Collection

Everything you need to collect accurate data, quickly and easily

Improving your footprint accuracy means getting activity data from suppliers, employees and internal teams. Seedling gives you the tools to do that without chasing people manually - structured surveys, automated reminders, and direct data imports that feed straight into your footprint.

  • Supplier surveys sent and tracked from your Seedling dashboard
  • Employee commuting and homeworking surveys built in
  • Responses import automatically (no manual re-entry)
  • Engagement history tracked year-on-year so data collection gets easier over time
measure your footprint dashboard
Process Any Data

Data processing, with expert and AI assistance

Activity data is rarely neat. Seedling can process complex data, pulling out the relevant figures and mapping them to the right emission categories. Your adviser reviews anything uncertain before it goes near your footprint.

  • Provide complex spreadsheets with carbon-relevant data
  • Adviser review resolves anything ambiguous before figures are confirmed
  • Cuts down manual data entry without compromising on accuracy
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Trusted by 500+ businesses globally
"We were genuinely blown away by the efficiency, expertise and helpfulness of Seedling. We were paired with Henry, an SBTi-certified expert, whose skilled and proactive guidance made the process feel seamless."
Kay Geoghegan
Quality, Data & B Corp Lead
,
Tyler Grange

What our clients say

Don't just take our word for it...

"With Seedling, we inputted data on what we do as a brand: the materials we use, where they're made, how they've travelled etc. The team at Seedling then calculate what that means in terms of carbon. To see all of our data in one place, and having a real person at the end of the phone to discuss what the data means and crucially how to make what we do better, was amazing."
Fashion
Patrick McDowell
Founder
,
Patrick McDowell
"Seedling helped us understand our carbon footprint in a clearer and more structured way. With their guidance, we were able to identify areas we could improve, especially around imported ingredients and daily operations. Their guidance on next steps was practical and realistic, especially in areas like energy use and waste management, which are important parts of our daily operations."
Restaurant & Brewery
Faizal Wahab
Sustainability Officer
,
LeVeL33
"I love working with Seedling. Passionate, insightful and thoughtful people doing work that benefits our business, our staff, and the whole planet. They are easy to work alongside, with a well-constructed process that is simple to follow for any business, small or large."
Software
Simon Stewart
Client Services Director
,
Big Blue Door
"Seedling has enabled us to play around with our strategy and understand the impact of any changes we make. For instance, if we want to switch 60% of cotton to recycled, we can quantify the impact that this will have. This is so helpful because once we've set targets, the key challenge is understanding how we get there."
Fashion
Mica Phillips
Sustainability Manager
,
Margaret Howell
"We spoke to a few emission tracking partners before we spoke with Seedling, and Seedling's offer seemed too good to be true but it wasn't! Super straight forward platform, able to get face to face advice when we needed it, not expensive. Would definitely recommend."
Creative agency
Natalie Pilch
The Unlikely Saboteur
,
Saboteur
"As a recently certified B Corp, finding a way to measure and reduce our carbon emissions as a business was a massive priority but we weren't really sure where to start. Seedling have been fantastic from the start at guiding us through the process, taking the time to explain and helping us improve our own knowledge, and their software has made everything a breeze! With an incredibly quick turn-around time, we have now received our insights and are looking forward to implementing the actions and targets that the team help us set in order to reduce our emissions and sharing that with our community through the integrated engagement functionality. I highly recommend Seedling and their great team, it was a pleasure to work with them and we look forward to doing so again."
Financial services
Anna Stevens
Operations Associate
,
Kene Partners

Ready to get started?

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FAQs

Your questions answered

What's the difference between spend-based and activity-based carbon calculations?

Spend-based calculations estimate emissions using financial data - how much you spent with a supplier, for example - combined with industry-average emission factors. Activity-based calculations use the actual physical activity, such as kilowatt-hours of energy used or kilometres travelled, which gives a more precise result. Seedling supports both, and lets you move between them as your data improves.

Do I need activity data to get started?

No. You can start a complete footprint using spend data alone. Seedling's assessment is designed to work with whatever you have on day one, and your adviser will guide you on where collecting activity data will make the biggest difference to your accuracy.

What counts as activity data?

Activity data is anything that directly measures what happened - energy meter readings, fuel receipts, flight itineraries, freight weights and distances, water bills, waste tonnage. If it records the physical quantity of an activity rather than what you paid for it, it counts.

Will switching from spend-based to activity-based affect my year-on-year comparisons?

Seedling tracks your methodology changes so your trend data stays meaningful. When you improve a category's data quality, your adviser will help you understand the impact on your numbers - distinguishing genuine emissions reductions from methodological improvements.

Still have questions?

Book a demo or get in touch and we'll be happy to help.