Lloyds Bank, Tridos Bank and accounting software for small businesses Xero are among several businesses to have joined a national programme, the aim of which is to automate emissions reporting for UK SMEs.

Icebreaker One is leading the implementation of the programme, called Perseus, which will cover electricity data initially, before rolling out to include gas and water.

Perseus will allow SMEs to choose to automatically share their electricity data with the platforms they use, to calculate their emissions with one click.

In doing so, it could unlock green finance for UK SMEs, helping them to reduce emissions more quickly.

Other organisations, including FDATA and Smarter Contracts, have also joined the Perseus project recently, taking its membership to around 40.

These businesses will work together to design the rules and processes to enable automated emissions reporting.

According to research by the British Business Bank, while SMEs account for 43% to 53% of UK business greenhouse gas emissions, only 3% have measured their carbon footprint and set targets for reduction.

Gavin Starks, founder and CEO of Icebreaker One

Gavin Starks, chief executive officer and founder of Icebreaker One, said: “A host of new members for Perseus accelerates our journey to automated and assurable emissions reporting for every UK SME.

“As the financial sector increases its demands on the real economy for trusted Smart Data, Perseus will help de-risk investment, save time and money on the race to zero.”

For accounting platforms, Perseus intends to provide their SME customers with the ability to produce sustainability reports and be incentivised to do so. In turn, platforms will be able to provide personalised recommendations based on higher quality emissions data.

“Xero is delighted to support Project Perseus’ goal of simplifying and democratising ESG reporting for small and medium businesses, which are the engine of the global economy,” Tamara Somers, general manager, sustainability and impact at Xero, said.

Through Perseus, banks could offer incentives for SMEs to report and reduce their emissions.

Elyn Corfield, chief executive officer, business and commercial banking at Lloyds Bank, added: “Every day we talk to small, growing businesses across all sectors throughout the country and it’s clear that simplified and standardised emissions measuring and reporting is a critical step on their transition journey.

“Greater collaboration between the private and public sector to share more accurate data could also help businesses make more informed investment decisions when looking to decarbonise, and that can help them to reduce costs.”

Amy Robinson, corporate projects manager at Triodos Bank UK, called the scale of the challenge to capture accurate data “huge”.

“Project Perseus has the potential to not only provide high-quality data that facilitates more effective interventions, but also to free up time and resources – creating capacity to focus on the practical challenges of reducing emissions,” she added.

Perseus, which is supported by government and was included in the 2023 Green Finance Strategy, is overseen by trade associations including the British Business Bank, UK Finance, Innovate Finance, the Federation of Small Businesses, and Energy UK.

Further reading: Ecosystem discusses next steps to get to Open Finance at OBL Summit

Gavin Starks, founder and chief executive officer of Icebreaker One, is speaking at the Smart Data Show, which is co-located with Open Banking Expo UK and Europe on 15-16 October in London. Click here to find out more.