What Carbon Calculated does

Carbon Calculated is a privately-held South African carbon management and climate change consultancy founded in 2008 by Nici Palmer (Managing Partner) and Alex Hetherington, headquartered in Cape Town with a regional office in Johannesburg. The firm provides carbon footprint calculations and reporting, CDP climate, water and forestry disclosure submissions, carbon tax consultation, science-based target setting aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), and implementation of Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. Its primary clients are large JSE-listed South African enterprises and globally positioned corporations, with named customers spanning telecommunications (Vodacom, since 2010), healthcare (Mediclinic Southern Africa, ~8-year partnership), insurance and financial services (Liberty, Old Mutual, Sanlam, Remgro), flooring manufacturing (Belgotex), packaging (Nampak), food and consumer goods (RCL Foods), retail (The Foschini Group), and education (Curro).

The firm's core technology is CarbonKnown, an in-house online software platform developed and maintained since at least 2012 by software engineer Stephen P. Tichapondwa, used to track, calculate and report GHG emissions in alignment with international protocols. Underlying the platform is a team of certified specialists — including a Verification and CDP Specialist (Karen van der Wath, ex-Nedbank Capital and Shell South Africa), a CDP water/forestry/climate specialist (Jess Vujovic), and a corporate sustainability professional with prior SBTi engagement at WWF South Africa (Rebekah Hughes) — supported by a bench of data analysts recruited from 2017 through 2024.

Carbon Calculated operates a hybrid professional-services-plus-software business: recurring carbon management consulting engagements with multi-year contracts and custom enterprise pricing, alongside SaaS-based subscriptions to CarbonKnown for environmental data management and analytic processes. Distribution is direct enterprise sales, consultative and relationship-led, anchored by a small number of long-tenured blue-chip South African accounts. The firm is bootstrapped, with no institutional funding or parent company, and operates under no disclosed regulatory or licensing framework.

Name

Carbon Calculated

Legal name

Carbon Calculated

Website

https://carboncalculated.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Carbon Calculated is a Cape Town-based carbon management consultancy founded in 2008 that helps JSE-listed and global corporations measure, report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions under CDP, SBTi, TCFD and South African carbon tax frameworks, using its proprietary CarbonKnown software platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Consulting Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG/Sustainability Reporting & Disclosure Platforms (EUABAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms (EUABAEAD)

Keywords

• Carbon footprint consulting
• GHG emissions reporting
• Carbon management software
• Sustainability advisory services
• Climate disclosure consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Carbon Management Consulting Services: Professional consulting services including carbon footprint calculations and report writing, CDP submissions and checks, carbon tax consultation, science-based target setting guidance, and TCFD recommendations implementation for enterprise clients
2. CarbonKnown Software Platform: SaaS-based carbon management software solution for environmental data management and analytic processes

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Carbon Calculated is a carbon management and climate change consultancy that helps organisations measure, report, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It delivers carbon footprint calculations and reporting, CDP submission support, carbon tax consultation, science-based target setting guidance, and TCFD implementation, alongside its proprietary CarbonKnown online software platform for environmental data management and analytics.

Product overview

Carbon Calculated is a carbon management and climate change consultancy offering both consulting services and a proprietary software product called CarbonKnown. Their service portfolio includes carbon footprint calculations and reporting, CDP submissions and checks, carbon tax consultation, science-based target setting, and TCFD recommendations implementation. CarbonKnown serves as the core software platform for environmental management, while the consulting services provide expert guidance on climate disclosures and regulatory compliance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CarbonKnown: An online software solution for carbon management and environmental data analysis.

Products and services

• CarbonKnown

Quantifiable outcome

• Mediclinic expanded organizational boundaries by 20% while increasing bed days sold by 30% over decade-long partnership
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Credible CarboncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCarbon Calculated partners with Credible Carbon, a South African carbon registry enabling businesses to reduce their contribution to climate change while alleviating poverty. Carbon Calculated provides third-party verification and audit services for Credible Carbon projects including Walkers Recycling and Spier Wine Farm soil carbon projects.
• MasiSportsminorOthersCarbon Calculated is a partner in the MasiSports initiative developing sports and life skills programs in Masiphumelele township. The partnership supports youth development through sports facilities at Ukhanyo Primary and Masi High schools, including a 60m x 30m astroturf field and the 1000xR1000 donation campaign.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Watershed: Watershed provides enterprise-grade carbon accounting software covering Scope 1–3 emissions, CDP reporting and science-based target tracking, with dedicated customer success support — overlapping directly with Carbon Calculated's service portfolio across global enterprise clients.
• South Pole Group: South Pole is a global climate consultancy and project developer that helps companies measure, report and reduce emissions, including advisory on carbon offsetting and target setting — directly comparable as a carbon advisory firm serving large corporates, though much larger and project-development oriented.
• Emitwise: Emitwise offers an enterprise carbon accounting platform focused on Scope 3 measurement, supply chain emissions and SBTi reporting — comparable to Carbon Calculated's Scope 3 advisory work, particularly with industrial and consumer goods clients.
• Carbon Trust: Carbon Trust is an independent climate consultancy helping organizations measure carbon footprints, set science-based targets and decarbonize — a directly comparable consulting-led peer with similar service mix, though UK-based and globally operating.
• Sweep: Sweep is an enterprise carbon accounting and ESG platform that combines software with implementation support for CDP, SBTi and TCFD disclosures — directly comparable to Carbon Calculated's consulting-plus-CarbonKnown offering, though Sweep is venture-backed and globally distributed.
• Greenly: Greenly is a carbon accounting SaaS platform aimed at SMEs and mid-market, with implementation specialists supporting GHG inventories and reduction strategies — comparable in combining software with human advisory, though targeting a smaller enterprise segment.
• Persefoni: Persefoni offers a climate management and accounting platform for enterprises, supporting GHG inventories, SBTi target setting and TCFD/CSRD disclosures — a directly comparable software-plus-services counterpart to Carbon Calculated, particularly for finance and sustainability teams.

Broad incumbents

• Workiva: Workiva is a broad ESG and regulatory disclosure platform used by large enterprises for sustainability and climate reporting — overlapping with Carbon Calculated on CDP/TCFD disclosure workflows but serving a much wider reporting portfolio beyond carbon.
• Sphera: Sphera provides enterprise environmental, health, safety and sustainability software plus consulting — overlapping with Carbon Calculated on GHG management, carbon footprinting and ESG disclosure but as part of a much broader EHS/sustainability portfolio.

Others

• Verra / CDP Accredited Verifier: Verra and accredited verification bodies represent the regulatory ecosystem in which Carbon Calculated's third-party MRV work (via Credible Carbon) operates — adjacent rather than competitive, but indicative of the broader verification infrastructure the firm plugs into for its carbon project services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/carboncalc
• Facebookfacebook.com/carbon.calculated
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carbon-calculated

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carbon Calculated