US CLIMATE FAQS
everything you need to know about us climate compliance
Everything you need to know about ZeroCarbon for US corporate climate disclosures, SEC compliance, SASB reporting, and GHG Protocol accounting.
Investor & Strategy Questions
Q.Why won't big legacy ESG platforms beat you?
Because they sell generic tools. We sell disclosure readiness for a specific customer. Big legacy ESG platforms are built for every industry, every geography, every use case, which means they are optimized for none. ZeroCarbon is purpose-built for companies navigating SEC, SASB, and CDP requirements without extraneous complexity.
Q.Are you competing with registries or carbon markets?
No. We are registry-agnostic and disclosure-first. Offsets are optional, not our core product. ZeroCarbon focuses on helping you calculate emissions and generate compliant disclosures. If you choose to purchase carbon credits later, you can use any verified registry you prefer.
Q.What is the core revenue model?
Recurring SaaS for disclosure calculation and reporting. Offsets are secondary. We make money when companies subscribe to our platform for climate disclosure preparation. Unlike brokerages that push carbon credits to generate revenue, our model aligns with audit accuracy.
Q.What is your competitive moat?
US-specific regulatory focus, disclosure generation, and claim safety. Most platforms are generic ESG dashboards. We are a specialized climate disclosure engine. Our moat includes: (1) Deep coverage of the US regulatory stack, (2) One-click disclosure exports, (3) Legal risk protection through automated warning heuristics.
Q.How do you scale beyond VC-backed technology companies?
We expand across adjacent verticals including e-commerce, logistics, manufacturing, and consumer goods. Each industry needs the same core capability: accurate emissions calculation and compliant disclosure, configured with appropriate SASB and SEC metric sets.
Corporate Customer Questions
Q.Is this compliance or voluntary?
Both. We prepare companies for mandatory SEC disclosures and market-driven standards (SASB, CDP). If you are a public company, SEC climate disclosure applies. If you have institutional investors or enterprise customers asking for carbon data, SASB and CDP are market-driven requirements.
Q.How do you avoid greenwashing risk?
Clear assumptions, automated warning systems, no premature net-zero claims, and audit-friendly documentation. Our platform actively prevents risky claims by: (1) Warning when data is incomplete, (2) Flagging net-zero claims without comprehensive Scope 3 data, (3) Suggesting legally safe disclosure language, and (4) Documenting all emission factor sources.
Q.Do I need ESG expertise to use this?
No. That is the point. ZeroCarbon is designed for companies without dedicated ESG staff. We provide structured guidance detailing exactly what data to gather and what to avoid. If you can track basic operations data like utility bills and fuel logs, you can use ZeroCarbon.
Q.What if I do not have all my data yet?
Start anyway. ZeroCarbon shows you exactly what is missing and helps you fill gaps over time. You do not need perfect data on day one. Our platform calculates data confidence scores, highlights missing categories, and suggests safe disclosure wording based on completeness.
Q.Can I generate reports for multiple standards at once?
Yes. We generate SEC, SASB, TCFD, CDP, and GHG Protocol reports from the same underlying ledger. Once you input your activity and emissions data, ZeroCarbon can export it into any statutory or voluntary format required.
Q.How long does it take to get disclosure-ready?
14 days on average for companies with basic data. Typical timeline: Days 1 to 3: Data ingestion and validation. Days 4 to 7: Gap filling and confidence scoring. Days 8 to 12: Disclosure generation and review. Days 13 to 14: Final export and submission preparation.
Q.Do you provide third-party attestation or verification services?
We prepare audit-ready documentation rather than acting as the verifier ourselves. ZeroCarbon generates documentation that meets third-party auditor standards: traceable equations, documented emission factor sources, and comprehensive calculation notes.
Technical & Methodological Questions
Q.What emission factors do you use?
Official EPA, EIA, and DEFRA emission factor databases (current 2026 editions). We use official government emission factors for Scope 1 and 2, and vetted industry factors (EEIO, CEDA, Exiobase) for spend-based Scope 3 calculations.
Q.How do you handle Scope 3 emissions?
We support all 15 GHG Protocol Scope 3 categories using hybrid calculation methodologies: spend-based EEIO factors, activity-based operational metrics, and verified supplier-specific PCF data when available.
Q.Can I import data from our ERP or accounting system?
Yes. ZeroCarbon ingests CSV and Excel uploads, bills and utility invoices (PDF or scanned) via automated extraction, supplier submissions through the supplier portal, and direct ERP data via our REST API.
Q.What about Scope 2 market-based reporting?
Fully supported. If you purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) or execute power purchase agreements (PPAs), ZeroCarbon calculates both location-based and market-based Scope 2 figures per GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance.
Q.How do you ensure enterprise data security?
All data is encrypted in transit (TLS 1.3) and at rest (AES-256). Multi-tenant isolation ensures your corporate emissions records remain confidential and are never shared or used to train third-party models.
Pricing & Contract Questions
Q.What is included in the enterprise evaluation?
Full platform access during the pilot period. You can upload data, execute calculations, test custom factor overrides, and generate preview disclosures with your compliance team.
Q.Do you charge per user seat or per company entity?
Per organization entity. Unlimited team members can be invited to collaborate on climate disclosure without seat licensing friction.
Q.Are carbon offset credits included in the base platform subscription?
No. Carbon credits are completely decoupled from software fees. ZeroCarbon does not bundle carbon credits because mandatory reporting must remain objective and free of credit-selling conflicts of interest.