How to switch from Excel spreadsheets to carbon accounting software

While nearly half of businesses claim to calculate their emissions and over 60% have plans to reduce their carbon impact, many still rely on Excel spreadsheets. This method is very time-consuming, error-prone, and complicated, especially for transport companies whose clients are increasingly expecting emissions reports. 

Manually calculating emissions in Excel is also less accurate than other methods, which can lead to errors, compliance issues, failure of audits, and even exclusion from tenders. In this article, we’ll walk through the three main methods of calculating emissions and how two  large transport companies improved their emissions measurement and reporting. 

TL;DR: Switching from spreadsheets or consultants to carbon accounting software

Carbon accounting software enables companies to calculate, analyze, and report on their emissions in-house, without huge investments of time or money. Plus, making the switch from spreadsheets or consultants to carbon accounting software is relatively straightforward: 

1. Determine your carbon accounting needs: figure out what your current emissions calculation approach is missing, whether that’s the ability to provide emissions data to customers, it’s too costly, or you simply need more accurate data. 
2. Select the right software or API: look at the available software options and consider factors like usability, calculation methodologies (whether they’re certified), customizability, reporting tools, integrations, and of course pricing.
3. Onboard the software (in as little as 2 weeks): during the onboarding process, you’ll get guidance on importing and validating your existing spreadsheet data, setting up dashboards and reports, and integrating with your existing workflows.
4. Start carbon accounting: once your software or API is up and running, you can start accurately measuring and reporting on your emissions, and sharing data with your customers. 
5. Monitor progress and improve performance: after a few weeks you can analyze your emissions data to create a baseline (if you don’t have one already), monitor your progress over time, and identify opportunities to reduce emissions or costs with more sustainable fuel types, vehicles, routes or other green initiatives. 

As well as saving time and money, carbon accounting software helps you win tenders, retain existing clients, and even attract green financing by making your emissions reporting more accurate and trustworthy. It also simplifies compliance reporting and helps you identify ways to reduce your overall emissions and provide more sustainable transport services to your customers. 

How companies are currently calculating their transport emissions 

There are three main ways that transport and logistics companies are calculating their CO₂e emissions, which we’ll now go into more detail on: 

1. Excel spreadsheets 

First up, Excel spreadsheets are still used by companies of all sizes to manually collect data on their transport operations, calculate emissions with complex formulas, and then summarize the results in tables and graphs. You can learn more about how to calculate CO₂e emissions in our previous guide.

Drawbacks of using spreadsheets

Spreadsheets may suffice for very small companies but it gets very complicated when you have to calculate emissions for hundreds of weekly journeys with different transport modes, fuel types, vehicles, and often even with shipments from different customers in the same container i.e. partial truckload (PTL) or less-than-truckload (LTL). Other drawbacks include: 

• Labor-intensive: managing emissions calculation spreadsheets is extremely time-consuming as it relies on a lot of manual work to input, check, format, and report data from.
• High risk of errors: with lots of manual work, comes a higher risk of errors and inconsistencies.
• Knowledge drain: spreadsheets are usually managed by one person, and if they leave the company then it typically takes huge amounts of time and effort to figure out how they managed the sheet and do a proper handover. 
• Difficult to validate data: unlike software solutions, spreadsheets don’t have clear audit logs so it can be difficult to validate the information is correct and track changes such as emission factor adjustments or calculation methodology updates.

2. External consultants for emissions calculation

Naturally, consultants are a trustworthy and reliable way of accurately calculating and validating your emissions calculations, but that usually comes with a hefty price tag. It also relies on you providing the consultants with very accurate data about your transport operations. 

Consultants typically consolidate your emissions data in clear and comprehensive reports, but if you need additional reports, such as the emissions from journeys completed for specific clients, then you’ll have to either create these yourself based on the main report or ask the consultant to prepare these. Some consultants use carbon accounting software to manage emissions monitoring and reporting for their clients, but whether they give you access to the software’s dashboards and reporting functions is at their discretion. 

Drawbacks of using external consultants

While consultants can provide valuable expertise, relying on them for carbon accounting has several downsides compared to managing emissions in-house, including: 

• High costs: using consultants to calculate emissions adds up in fees, especially if you need frequent updates or client-specific reports.
• Limited control over data: consultants typically control your emissions data in their systems, whether that is Excel spreadsheets or their own carbon accounting software, making it harder to access or update.
• Slower turnaround times: even for simple updates or reports, you’re dependent on the consultant’s availability to prepare the information you need. 

3. Carbon accounting software

Carbon accounting software simplifies how you calculate, analyze, and report on CO₂e emissions, making it easier for companies to bring this function in-house. It could be a standalone software solution or an Emissions API or integration with your existing transport management or supply chain software. 

Carbon accounting tools are typically designed to be used by any sustainability or operations professional, and don’t require any huge time investment in upskilling or onboarding. This is especially important for the 60% of SMEs who cite that lack of skills and knowledge is the main barrier to them taking climate action.

Unlike manual calculations, the leading carbon accounting software lets you accurately calculate emissions for individual shipments and transport legs, and transparently share this data with clients through customizable dashboards and reports. This can even be automated to ensure clients always have access to real-time emissions data for their own monitoring and compliance reports. 

Advanced analytics and AI are in-built in some carbon accounting platforms, helping their users to identify trends, test different scenarios (e.g. the emissions impact of switching fuel type), and spot opportunities to reduce emissions by providing their clients with more sustainable transport options. 

How to make the transition from Excel spreadsheets to software

It may seem daunting to implement a new carbon accounting approach, especially if you don’t have an in-house expert, but it doesn’t have to be as long as you choose an easy-to-use carbon accounting software and follow these steps. 

5 steps to get started with carbon accounting software

1. Determine your carbon accounting needs 

Audit how you currently calculate CO₂e emissions, and the downside or gaps with that method. This could be factors like: 

• Taking too much time and effort to do it manually (minimum 2 hours per week to keep spreadsheets up to date and accurate)
• Frequent changes in your supply chain 
• Increasing requests from customers for detailed emissions reports
• Pressure to comply with sustainability regulations 
• Having a goal to reduce your carbon footprint

2. Select the right software or API 

Evaluate the options available on the market to check they have everything you need in a carbon accounting software. This includes looking at factors like usability, calculation methodologies (whether they’re certified), customizability, reporting tools, integrations, and of course pricing. If you prefer to use an Emissions API that integrates with your existing TMS or other software, it’s still important to check whether it’ll meet all of your needs.  

3. Onboard the software (in as little as 2 weeks)

During onboarding, you’ll get guidance on importing and validating your existing spreadsheet data, setting up dashboards and reports, and integrating with your existing workflows. It also usually includes training to ensure your team knows how to use the platform effectively from day one. Depending on the partner you choose, onboarding should be pretty quick. With BigMile, onboarding takes just 2 weeks on average.  

4. Start carbon accounting

Once you’ve onboarded the software or API, you can immediately get started with measuring and reporting on your emissions, and sharing this data with your clients. You can decide whether to start small (e.g. with one transport mode) or roll it out for all your transport operations in one go. 

5. Monitor progress and improve performance

After a few weeks you’ll be able to analyze the emissions data so far and create a baseline for your emissions output (if you don’t already have one). You can also identify opportunities to reduce your emissions or offer more sustainable routes to your clients, test scenarios, and monitor your overall carbon footprint. 

Benefits of using carbon accounting software

Now you know more about how to implement carbon accounting software, let’s have a look at the main benefits of this approach, 

• Save time and money by using trusted calculation methodologies to automatically calculate your emissions and store all data in one place so it’s easily exportable for audits, compliance, or customers. 
• Easily comply with sustainability regulations that are mandatory for your company, as well as aligning with voluntary sustainability standards like the VSME Standard.
• Gain a competitive edge in tenders by transparently sharing your emissions data and improving your scoring against ESG criteria with emissions reduction initiatives.
• Retain existing clients by providing accurate emissions data on the transport and logistics services you provide for them, and sharing data in a standardized format to support their own sustainability reporting. 
• Access green financing and attract investors by showcasing and validating your sustainability credentials in transparent, accurate reports and dashboards. 
• Minimize your carbon footprint by identifying smart, cost-effective ways to lower your emissions over time, which is especially important since almost a quarter of global energy-related CO₂e emissions come from the transport sector.

Read more about the benefits of upgrading your carbon accounting approach in this article on the 6 benefits of carbon accounting. 

Real-world example of how Farm Trans transitioned from spreadsheets to carbon accounting software

Farm Trans originally tracked emissions with both Excel spreadsheets and external consultants, a process that was both imprecise and expensive when Farm Trans handles over 225,000 consignments per annum. It also made it difficult to stay compliant with new regulations like the CSRD or to provide detailed insights on emissions to its clients. 

Since starting to use BigMile’s carbon accounting software, Farm Trans has gained precise, shipment-level insights into its CO₂e emissions. Sustainability Manager Suzanne Spierings explains how this benefits Farm Trans: “BigMile gives us the insights to meet our sustainability goals and have meaningful, data-driven conversations with clients about cutting emissions.”

As well as simplifying the preparation of compliance reports, BigMile’s platform helps Farm Trans make better decisions on sustainability initiatives like switching to alternative fuels and electrifying its fleet of vehicles.

Simplify your carbon accounting with BigMile

Whether you’re trying to switch from manual, labor-intensive spreadsheet calculation or move away from using consultants to manage your emissions, BigMile makes carbon accounting hassle-free—so you can focus on delivering value for your clients.

With our platform or Emissions API, you can accurately measure your emissions, get insights on how to reduce your emissions, provide customized reports to your clients, and comply with regulations like the CSRD. 

Ready to get started? Join 200+ logistics and transport companies like RICOH, Murata, and Vanguard Logistics who are using BigMile to calculate their carbon footprint. Simply book a demo and we’ll give you a personalized tour of our platform and how it can help you.