Carbon Reporting in 2026: How to keep up with rising standards

A year or two ago, high-level or even partial footprint data was enough for growing teams to satisfy most carbon data requests.

In 2026 and beyond, this looks set to change. More requests now expect full-scope coverage, more robust methodologies, and a credible plan to reduce emissions.

So, why are carbon data requirements ramping up for growing teams in 2026? Because your clients are under increasing pressure from regulators, investors, and customers to show progress on their Scope 3 emissions. To do that, they need better information from their suppliers.

In this post, we’ll cover what’s changing, and how to make 2026 the year carbon reporting feels under control and efficient. We’ll focus on three key areas:

• B Corp recertification is moving towards clearer minimum requirements and a stronger focus on climate action plans.

• The NHS has specific requirement changes coming in 2027.

• Customer requests are shifting from high-level estimates to more accurate data, clearer methodologies, and evidence of a credible reduction plan.

Shift 1: B Corp: New sustainability requirements have arrived.  

B Corp is a certification designed to recognise companies that meet higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

In 2025, B Corp released a revamped set of standards moving away from a point system (in which large sections of the assessment – including taking action on climate change – were effectively optional) to a minimum requirements system. And while B Corp introduced a temporary grace period for organisations in 2025, that window begins to close for many teams in 2026. So, whether you’re newly certifying as a B Corp or re-certifying in 2026, you’ll need to get to grips with B Corp’s new Climate Action Topic.

What exactly is changing in B Corp’s new standards

The exact requirements you’ll be expected to meet depend on your organisation’s size and sector, but can be broadly defined as:

• Smaller teams: produce a Climate Action Plan that outlines how you intend to reduce emissions over time.

• Larger teams: develop a strategic document called a Climate Transition Plan, which must include full-scope emissions data, Net Zero targets, and credible plans to decarbonise.  

What this means in practice  

If you’re aiming to certify or recertify as a B Corp in 2026, evidence of climate action is no longer a ‘nice to have’ part of the assessment – you’ll need a structured plan you can publish confidently.  

Whilst this sounds daunting, there’s good news: B Corp has aligned its reporting requirements with broader standards, so the work you do to develop robust carbon data and a strategic plan to decarbonise will be reuseable. As we’ll explain later on, growing teams increasingly see the same underlying request from investors, banks, and customers:  

‘Do you have a credible emissions reduction plan, backed by data, and are you acting on it?’  

At Seedling, we’re already helping teams prepare for the new B Corp standards, and we’ve written a detailed guide to help you through it: give our B Corp Climate Action Topic Guide a read.

Shift 2: NHS Suppliers: Get ahead of 2027 requirement changes.  

What’s changing  

Currently, the NHS requires suppliers to publish a document called a Carbon Reduction Plan aligning to a specific format as set out under PPN 006.  

Looking ahead, the NHS Net Zero Roadmap is a multi‑year plan for reporting requirements to become more detailed over time.  These changes eventually aim to go beyond commitments and require suppliers to demonstrate real reductions – as part of a wider push to meet NHS Net Zero targets.

From April 2027, NHS compliant Carbon Reduction Plans must cover global (not just UK) Scope 1, 2, and all Scope 3 emissions (everything from commuting/homeworking, to emissions from the products and services you buy). Net Zero targets must be aligned with 2045, earlier than the previous 2050 requirement.

What this means in practice  

If you supply the NHS – or are planning to – 2026 is a good moment to make sure your carbon footprint is comprehensive – full-scope and global operations. As the NHS focuses more on decarbonisation, it makes sense to pay attention to the accuracy of your data and its ability to reflect the changes you make: this requires incorporating activity-data, not just tracking spend. Finally, it also means treating your reduction plan like a live strategic document, not a one-off that gets published on your website and forgotten about.  

Shift 3: Data Quality: Your customers now want more than high-level estimates.  

What’s changing  

Larger organisations (i.e. many of your customers) are under increasing pressure to demonstrate progress against their own climate commitments. As they work to reduce their Scope 3 emissions, many are turning their attention to their supply chain (you) for clearer emissions data, evidence of reduction activity, or a credible plan to decarbonise going forward.  

So, for growing teams, although 2026 likely won’t involve direct regulatory requirements (though it’s worth keeping an eye on whether you tip the SECR threshold in 2026), you’ll be responding to your biggest customers tightening what they need from you as their supplier. High‑level, spend‑based emissions data, or partial footprints, especially without a plan to reduce emissions, is unlikely to continue to meet expectations.  

What you’re likely to see in practice:  

1. More detailed sustainability sections in RFPs / pre-qualification

2. Supplier portals with standardised carbon questions (e.g. EcoVadis, CDP), asking for evidence, not just claims

3. Contract renewals asking for Net Zero plans, sometimes with specific methodology requests

And the questions are changing from “Do you track carbon footprint data?” to:

• Please share your full-scope carbon footprint (1, 2 and 3)

• Please share your SBTi-aligned Net Zero target

• Please share your Net Zero plan, and how you’ll track progress

The good news: it’s mostly the same data, reused

By this point, you might be thinking: B Corp plan, NHS plan, customer portals, tenders… are these all separate projects?

In practice, they’re usually different outputs, built from the same inputs.

Once you have one solid source of truth – your footprint data, Net Zero targets, and action plan – you can reuse it across:

• customer requests and supplier portals

• B Corp Climate Action documentation

• public sector / NHS-style Carbon Reduction Plans

• annual reporting like SECR (if you’re in scope)

How Seedling can help:  

Seedling’s platform is built to help growing teams take action without needing a full-time sustainability function:  

• Full-scope footprints aligned with the GHG Protocol, using activity data where it matters most, and expert reviewed so you have confidence in the results.

• Net Zero target setting, aligned with the Science Based Targets Initiatives Framework.  

• Data-backed decarbonisation plans, based on hotspot analysis of your footprint and the experience of our experts working across different sectors.

• Automated reporting, meeting the formats required across customer requests, B Corp, SECR and public sector tenders.  

For growing teams, developing a rough estimate into a data-backed Net Zero plan can sound intimidating. If 2026 is the year you want reporting to feel calmer and more repeatable, that’s exactly the step we help teams to take, with easy-to-use software plus one-to-one expert support.