How to create a small business sustainability report

Start with the bills you already have. Build a clear picture of your emissions, explain the gaps and give customers evidence they can understand.

5 October 2026 · Prepared by MarginGlow with AI assistance.

What should a useful sustainability report contain?

Start with your business name, reporting dates, locations and operations included. Explain who prepared the report, which records you used, what you measured, what you estimated and what remains unknown. Add practical actions, owners and target dates. A carbon inventory is one part of sustainability reporting; customers may also ask about water, waste, workers or governance.

Check the recipient’s questionnaire before starting. A short report can support a proposal, but it does not automatically satisfy a tender, certification or legal reporting obligation. If assurance is required, arrange an independent review.

Understand Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3

Scope 1 covers direct emissions from operations you own or control, such as a gas boiler, delivery van and refrigerant leaks. Scope 2 covers purchased electricity, heat, steam and cooling. Scope 3 covers other value-chain emissions, such as purchased goods, business travel, commuting and waste.

Review all 15 Scope 3 categories for relevance. A few receipts cannot establish a complete value-chain footprint. Record unassessed and excluded categories explicitly; missing data is not zero emissions.

Collect activity data, not just spending

Gather electricity and gas bills showing kWh, fuel records showing litres and travel records showing passenger-kilometres. Keep the original evidence and use the same reporting period throughout. Separate business and personal use, and explain allocations for shared premises or vehicles.

Avoid counting an invoice total and its itemised quantities twice. Split bills that cross the reporting boundary. Do not convert money into energy use without a documented method, and do not treat a tax receipt as proof of the energy consumed.

Choose factors that match your evidence

The calculation is activity quantity × emission factor × business share. Match the factor to the activity, unit, country, year and gas coverage. For an illustrative factor of 0.2 kg CO2e/kWh, 1,000 kWh at 80% business use gives 160 kg CO2e, or 0.16 tonnes. This example factor is not a recommended real-world factor.

CO2 and CO2e are not interchangeable. Some Irish SEAI factors cover CO2 only; MarginGlow keeps those estimates separate from its CO2e subtotal. Grid electricity, transmission losses and upstream fuel emissions also have different boundaries. Supplier-specific renewable electricity claims need suitable evidence and a separate market-based calculation where applicable.

Build the report in MarginGlow

Sign in and open the sustainability report builder from your dashboard. Enter your business, reporting period and boundary, then add figures manually or ask the receipt reader to suggest activity data. Review the extracted quantities and dates, select a documented factor, and confirm each entry.

Manual entry and report downloads have no extra charge. Optional AI receipt reading uses one Task Credit per successfully read file. MarginGlow Pro costs €7 or US$7 per month plus applicable VAT, with no separate activation fee; available credits determine optional AI usage. Check the pricing page for the current plan.

Download an evidence-backed report

Review coverage, limitations and planned actions before downloading the report and calculation CSV. Open the report in your browser and use Print → Save as PDF to attach it to a proposal. You can save a draft file and restore it later; keep downloaded files and original bills securely.

The builder does not publish anything automatically. Its report is a self-reported partial inventory, not an independently verified footprint or a complete VSME disclosure. Add suitable factors and records for your operations, and check your customer’s requirements before sharing.

Make credible claims and improve each year

State what is included and what is missing alongside the result. Keep gross emissions separate from any carbon credits or removal purchases. Avoid claims such as carbon neutral, fully compliant or zero impact unless you can substantiate the exact claim and its requirements.

Set a useful first action: check overnight electricity use, reduce unnecessary journeys or request supplier data. Record a baseline and compare equivalent boundaries and methods in future years. Report changes in the business or factors so readers can understand the comparison.