What Association Bilan Carbone does

Association Bilan Carbone, legally registered as "Association pour la transition Bas Carbone" (ABC), is a French non-profit association founded in 2011 to operate the Bilan Carbone® methodology — a greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and transition-planning framework originally created in 2004 by ADEME (France's ecological transition agency). The association serves four membership colleges: Economic actors (companies and organizations with economic activity), Public Sector (regions, departments, communes, intercommunalities, CCIs, hospitals, state services), Consulting professionals, and Non-Economic actors (NGOs, federations, foundations). It also addresses citizens via the Club Citoyens and a co-branded individual carbon footprint platform (Nos Gestes Climat, with Datagir/ADEME), and secondary-education institutions through the Projet Établissements Bas Carbone (PEBC) and the European Clicks On project. ABC reports 400+ member organizations and approximately 8,000 annual carbon assessments conducted by members and licensed practitioners.

The core technology stack centers on the Bilan Carbone® methodology, continuously updated (most recently to version 2025), complemented by the Bilan Carbone® + (BC+) web-based software tool that replaces earlier Excel-based workflows, the Nos Gestes Climat self-serve calculator, the ACT® (Assessing Low Carbon Transition) climate strategy framework co-published with ADEME, the GHG Management System (Système de Management GES®), the ALDO carbon accounting tool, and the Valorisation des Actions de Transition (V.A.T.) evaluation method. ABC monetizes through annual membership subscriptions segmented by college, structured training products (Cordée Inventaire at €600, Cordée Plan de Transition at €900, and a tiered Discovery/Initiation/Mastery module system launched in early 2026), and licensing of the BC+ software. Distribution is direct via web enrollment, augmented by authorized training organizations and a public directory of licensed service providers and evaluators. ABC operates primarily in France, with international footprint in Italy, Hungary, Croatia, and Greece via the ADEME-supported Clim'Foot project.

The business model is community-led: ABC grows through regulatory tailwinds for carbon accounting in France and Europe (notably CSRD and CBAM/MACF compliance), word-of-mouth among climate professionals, partnerships with educational institutions, and an expanded scope following its 2023 merger with APCC (Association des Professionnels du Conseil Climat). ABC is governed by its members, has no disclosed parent or external investor, and derives operating funding from membership fees, training revenue, tool licensing, and project-related institutional support (notably ADEME).

Name

Association Bilan Carbone

Legal name

Association pour la transition Bas Carbone

Website

https://associationbilancarbone.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Association Bilan Carbone (ABC) is a French non-profit association that operates the Bilan Carbone® methodology, providing carbon accounting, transition planning, software tools, and training to 400+ member organizations, public-sector bodies, climate consultants, citizens, and educational institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Carbon Accounting Methodology & Climate Transition Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Supplier Engagement & Value-Chain Decarbonization Programs (EUABAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

GHG Monitoring Plans & Sampling Design (Field Protocols, QA/QC) (EUABACAE), Carbon Claims, Labeling & Communications Advisory (VCMI/ICVCM Guidance, Claim Substantiation) (EUABADAI)

Keywords

• Carbon accounting methodology
• Greenhouse gas assessment
• Low-carbon transition consulting
• Climate strategy evaluation
• GHG management software

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees organized by four colleges: Economic actors (companies), Public Sector (collectivities and public establishments), Consulting professionals, and Non-Economic actors (associations, NGOs, foundations). Members receive access to tools, methodology support, and community benefits.
2. Training Programs: Collective training programs called 'Cordées' including Inventory Bilan Carbone (600€) and Transition Plan (900€). Also includes individual training modules for Discovery, Initiation, and Mastery levels deployed with authorized training organizations.
3. Tool Licensing: Licensing of Bilan Carbone+ software tool for organizations requiring spreadsheet-based carbon accounting solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Association Bilan Carbone (ABC) develops, maintains, and licenses the Bilan Carbone® carbon accounting methodology and its supporting ecosystem. It sells annual memberships across four colleges (Economic, Public Sector, Consulting, Non-Economic), delivers collective training programs (Cordées) priced at €600–€900, and licenses the Bilan Carbone+ web-based carbon accounting software to organizations that need a spreadsheet alternative. ABC also operates the free Nos Gestes Climat citizen platform and co-publishes the ACT® and VAT methodologies with ADEME.

Product overview

Association Bilan Carbone (ABC) offers a comprehensive portfolio centered around the Bilan Carbone® methodology, a pioneering carbon accounting approach created in 2004 by ADEME and managed by ABC since 2011. The portfolio includes the core Bilan Carbone® methodology (also available as software: Bilan Carbone® +), the individual carbon footprint calculator Nos Gestes Climat, the ACT® climate strategy evaluation tool, and the GHG Management System. ABC provides software versions, specialized modules (Bilan Carbone® Territoire for territories), training programs (MOOC Énergie & Climat), collective programs (Cordée), and educational initiatives (PEBC, Clicks On). The product ecosystem is unified around carbon accounting, transition planning, and climate action across citizens, organizations, and territories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bilan Carbone®: Carbon assessment methodology for organizations, territories, and individuals, combining greenhouse gas emission accounting with transition action plans.
• Bilan Carbone® + (BC+)
• Nos Gestes Climat
• Système de Management GES®
• ALDO
• ACT® (Assessing Low Carbon Transition)
• MOOC Énergie & Climat
• La Fresque du Bilan Carbone®
• Valorisation des Actions de Transition (V.A.T.)

Products and services

• Bilan Carbone® Core carbon accounting methodology combining greenhouse gas emission accounting with transition action plans. Helps organizations reduce emissions and address climate and regulatory challenges. Created in 2004 by ADEME; operated by ABC since 2011.
• Bilan Carbone® + (BC+) Web-based software version of the Bilan Carbone® methodology designed as an alternative to Excel spreadsheets, addressing spreadsheet constraints (data transfer between versions, file count) while providing all v8 features plus new capabilities.
• Nos Gestes Climat Free individual carbon footprint calculator created by ABC and Datagir (ADEME). Lets users enter data across transport, food, and housing categories to calculate annual carbon weight and receive eco-gesture recommendations.
• ACT® (Assessing Low Carbon Transition) Climate strategy evaluation tool complementing Bilan Carbone® for optimizing organizational low-carbon strategies. Co-published by ABC and ADEME.
• Cordée Inventaire Bilan Carbone® Collective 3–4 month training program to validate emissions inventory and build competencies through collective intelligence. Five sessions with peers, experts, and field experience feedback. Priced at €600.
• Cordée Plan de transition Collective 9-month training program to structure and drive an ambitious operational climate transition plan. Nine peer sessions with experts and field experience feedback. Priced at €900.
• MOOC Énergie & Climat Massive Open Online Course covering energy and climate topics across three seasons, created by ABC and Avenir Climatique with ADEME support, designed to train climate ambassadors.
• Valorisation des Actions de Transition (V.A.T.) Innovative evaluation method created by ABC to assess the quality of transition actions, using forward-looking rather than backward-looking (avoided emissions) criteria.
• Clicks On European project developed by ABC with six partners to sensitize secondary school students to climate issues, extending PEBC beyond France.
• Clim'Foot European project supported by ADEME involving France, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, and Greece. Facilitates public policy development to calculate and reduce organizational carbon footprints through adapted Bilan Carbone®.
• Base Carbone Carbon database deployment initiative for international contexts as part of Clim'Foot to transfer French Bilan Carbone® expertise to partner countries.
• Projet Établissements Bas Carbone (PEBC) Educational project with Avenir Climatique that sensitizes French secondary school students to climate issues by conducting Bilan Carbone® of their establishments and building GHG reduction action plans.
• Baromètre de l'évaluation des bilans GES First annual barometer measuring quality assurance practices of GHG assessments; assesses what organizations do to guarantee the quality of their GHG assessments.
• Fresque du Bilan Carbone® Interactive group workshop format based on the Bilan Carbone® methodology to engage participants in understanding carbon footprint concepts through collaborative exercises.
• Club Citoyens Individual annual membership program for engaged citizens to support the ABC mission and access community resources, without access to Bilan Carbone® tools.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• ADEME (Agence de la transition écologique)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011ADEME is the founding partner that created the Bilan Carbone® methodology in 2004 and transferred its operation to ABC in 2011. ADEME continues to support ABC through joint publications, European projects (Clim'Foot, MOOC), and ongoing methodological collaboration including the 2025 Bilan Carbone methodology update and ACT positioning note.
• Avenir ClimatiquecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for educational initiatives including the Projet Établissements Bas Carbone (PEBC) in France and the MOOC Énergie & Climat with three seasons. Organizations collaborate on developing carbon culture in secondary education.
• Datagir (ADEME)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-creator of the Nos Gestes Climat platform, a free citizen carbon footprint calculator. Partnership combines ABC's carbon methodology expertise with Datagir's digital platform capabilities.
• APCC (Association des Professionnels du Conseil Climat)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMerger completed in 2022 unifying the climate consulting professional community under ABC's structure. APCC professionals joined ABC through the Consulting college membership category.
• Clim'Foot European Partners (Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Greece)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerEuropean cooperation project supported by ADEME to adapt and transfer Bilan Carbone® methodology to partner countries. ABC animates the Clim'Foot community and disseminates project resources across participating nations.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• ADEME: French ecological transition agency that created the Bilan Carbone methodology in 2004 and continues to co-develop it with ABC. Functions as ABC's primary strategic partner and institutional sponsor rather than a competitor.

Emerging players

• Greenly: Carbon accounting SaaS platform that automates GHG measurement for SMEs and enterprises. Directly competes with ABC's BC+ software offering on ease-of-use and integration with enterprise financial systems.
• Watershed: Enterprise carbon accounting and climate platform used by major corporations. Represents the venture-backed software alternative to methodology-based approaches like Bilan Carbone for large organizations.
• Sweep: Carbon management platform providing enterprise-grade emissions tracking and reduction workflows. Competes with BC+ in the SaaS carbon accounting category, particularly for mid-market and enterprise segments.

Broad incumbents

• EcoAct: International carbon consulting firm (now part of Accenture) providing carbon strategy, climate reporting, and net-zero advisory. Competes with ABC in the broader French and European climate consulting market.
• South Pole: Global climate solutions provider offering carbon advisory, project development, and software tools for corporate climate strategy. Competes with ABC in the broader climate consulting market, particularly for multinational enterprise clients.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): Global carbon disclosure standard and platform used by thousands of organizations worldwide. Competes with ABC's Bilan Carbone methodology as the dominant corporate carbon disclosure framework, particularly for multinationals operating across borders.

Direct peers

• Carbone 4: French carbon consulting firm providing advisory services, training, and methodology support to organizations on carbon strategy. Operates in the same French market as ABC's economic and consulting college members.
• Carbon Trust: UK-based organization with a similar model of government-backed carbon methodology standards, certification programs, advisory services, and a member/community ecosystem. Most structurally comparable peer to ABC in terms of mission, governance, and offerings.
• Climate Neutral Group: European carbon advisory and offset provider offering methodology services, certification, and transition support to organizations. Operates in adjacent European markets with comparable service offerings to ABC.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/asso_abc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCJAzjqD5QbDC9fGBY8efXjg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-bilan-carbone

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Association Bilan Carbone