Introducing the New Seedling Certification

Introducing the New Seedling Certification

Seedling Certification recognises organisations that have built a best-practice, evidence-based carbon management strategy – with GHG Protocol-aligned measurement, science-based targets, a data-backed reduction plan, and transparent disclosure.

It’s designed to be more than a badge you pick up along the way. Put simply, it helps customers, investors and employees understand how you’re measuring, managing and reducing emissions, without needing to decode sustainability jargon.

What’s new?

Seedling Certification used to be a single award level. Now, we’re introducing a tiered system, so businesses can show both credible foundations and real-world progress over time:

Climate Action Committed (Foundation)
Climate Action Leader (Advanced)

The two certification levels

1) Climate Action Committed (Foundation)

This level is about getting the essentials in place - the building blocks of credible climate action.

To achieve Climate Action Committed, you’ll have:

Measured a full-scope (Scope 1, 2 and 3), GHG Protocol-aligned carbon footprint

Had your footprint expert-reviewed through Seedling’s process

Set science-aligned reduction targets (absolute or intensity-based)

Built a data-backed decarbonisation roadmap

Published your carbon footprint, targets and reduction plan for transparency

2) Climate Action Leader (Advanced)

This level is for organisations that can show they’re not just planning, they’re progressing, improving quality, and engaging the wider business and supply chain.

To achieve Climate Action Leader, you’ll meet all the Foundation criteria, plus:

Published year-on-year emissions progress vs a baseline year

Implemented emissions-reduction initiatives

Improved emissions accuracy vs the baseline year

Engaged key suppliers on emissions data sharing and reduction activity

Engaged employees on carbon and climate literacy

Why this matters (and why it’s worth aiming for)

Seedling Certification is built on established best practice, including GHG Protocol-aligned footprint data, science-based targets, and transparent disclosure.

That means it can do a few useful jobs at once:

A clear trust signal for clients, procurement teams, investors, and partners who want evidence

A practical roadmap for your internal team, so the work doesn’t stop after measurement

A credibility advantage: one trusted standard that you can communicate publicly, without needing a long-winded explanation

A standard you can confidently stand behind, because it’s based on measurement, targets, a plan, and transparency – not just offsetting or claims without evidence

How Seedling Certification avoids greenwashing

We built Seedling Certification to be clear, specific, and easy to interpret. Seedling’s approach is designed to avoid greenwashing by:

Not just offsetting - it requires measurement and reduction planning first

Building in transparency - the data must be published for accountability

Including an expert review step - Seedling’s team checks each step before certification is awarded

Keeping standards public and straightforward - so anyone can see what the certification represents

How to get certified

If you’re working with Seedling, the new certification is live in the ‘Certify’ section of the platform. Your Seedling advisor can guide you through the process, and help you progress through the stages.

If you’re not working with Seedling just yet, but are interested in our certification, you can explore our free-tool, or book a call to talk through how you can become Seedling Certified.

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