How to make a climate commitment your customers can check

What makes a commitment credible

A promise such as "committed to sustainability" gives a buyer nothing to check. A credible commitment answers five questions: which emissions it covers, from which base year, by how much, by when, and how progress will be reported.

It should be signed by the managing director or another person with authority to commit the business, and recorded in the board minutes. That makes it a decision the company owns, rather than a line on the website.

Three routes to choose from

You can commit through a recognised scheme or on your own terms. Each suits a different stage.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) runs a simpler route for smaller companies, with set target wording and lower validation fees than for large ones. Its criteria, eligibility and fees change, so read its current guidance for smaller companies before you register, and allow time for the data work that comes first.

Your own commitment is a fair place to start if you are not ready for a scheme. A customer that has not asked for a particular scheme may accept one, provided the scope, base year, target year and reporting are stated plainly.

Setting the commitment, step by step

1. 1Measure a baselineUse your most recent full year of records: fuel, electricity and refrigerant top-ups for Scope 1 and 2, and a first screen of Scope 3. Our net zero plan guide covers this step.
2. 2Decide the scopeCover Scope 1 and 2 at least, and say plainly whether Scope 3 is included.
3. 3Choose the size and the datePick a cut and a target year, and check them against a list of measures with costs and dates. If the measures do not add up to the target, change one or the other.
4. 4Say how you treat renewables and creditsState whether a renewable tariff counts towards the target, and say if you plan to buy carbon credits. Credits are not reductions, and your commitment should say so.
5. 5Sign off and publishA director signs, the board minutes record it, and you publish it where customers look: your website, tender responses and supplier questionnaires. If you used a scheme, follow its rules on wording and badges.

Wording that works, and wording to avoid

A good commitment is short, specific and checkable. Here is an example of the shape it can take.

These are the phrases that invite challenge:

• "Carbon neutral" or "net zero" for today's business or products, unless you can evidence it under a recognised standard.
• Promises with no scope, figure or date.
• Offsetting presented as reduction. Say what you cut, and separately what you offset, if anything.
• Selective figures, such as an improvement per unit of output while total emissions rise, without saying so.

The cost of getting this wrong has gone up. Since April 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can fine businesses directly for misleading claims to consumers, green claims included. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the fine can reach 10% of global turnover. The CMA's Green Claims Code sets six principles, including that claims are truthful, clear, complete and backed by evidence.

Where carbon credits fit

There is no single legal definition of net zero for a company. A widely used one is in the SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard. It means cutting emissions across the value chain by at least 90% in most sectors, in line with 1.5°C pathways, and then permanently removing the carbon dioxide that remains.

Under that standard, carbon credits do not count as reductions towards a science-based target. If you use them at all, use them for emissions you cannot yet cut, choose high-integrity credits, favour removals over time, and report them separately from your reductions.

Keeping the commitment

A commitment stays credible only if you report against it every year, including the years that did not go to plan. Report the same figures, calculated the same way. If your method improves, restate the base year and say so.

Explain what moved the numbers. A new site, a new product line or a cleaner electricity grid can all change your footprint for reasons that have nothing to do with your reduction measures, and a buyer reading your figures needs to know which change was yours.

How ESGen helps

The ESGen platform measures your Scope 1 and 2 baseline from your bills, using the conversion factors published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). It keeps the source and the calculation behind every figure, and locks each reporting period once it is chosen. That gives your commitment a base year you can defend. See carbon assessment.

Target-setting is team work at ESGen, not a platform feature. Our team can help you choose a route, prepare the emissions data behind a target and check the wording of your claims. Support with an SBTi submission is scoped with you as a separate piece of work, and targets are validated by the SBTi, not by ESGen. See SBTi support.

To talk through your commitment and the records behind it, book a demo.