notch

Core Features

notch presents carbon accounting as a way to understand how operational activities drive emissions and business performance, rather than treating reporting as a standalone compliance task. Its main features include:

• Activity-based, GHG-aligned accounting – The platform is built on Greenhouse Gas Protocol principles and uses activity-based data instead of spend-based estimates to calculate emissions. It supports reporting across all three scopes and is designed to scale as organisations expand coverage across sites and value chains.

• Embedded carbon planning and “What if” analysis – notch includes a carbon planning module that lets users develop short-, medium- and long-term plans, assign actions to specific sites, and compare outcomes from direct reductions and lower-carbon alternatives.

• Scope 3 and supplier reporting workflows – As larger organisations request value-chain data, notch supports configurable Scope 3 reporting and provides mechanisms for suppliers to prepare GHG reports aligned with buyer requirements.

• Statutory, stakeholder and audit-ready reporting – The platform is described as delivering automated compliance and stakeholder reporting, including statutory formats such as SECR and other regulatory or tender-related outputs.

• Integrations and data automation – notch is integrated into SystemsLink’s Unify platform so users can pull energy meter data directly into notch with a “retrieve SystemsLink data” action, and is also embedded in Optima’s Optii carbon accounting module via API.

• Advisory services and partner ecosystem – The software emerged from climate consultancy CBN Expert, whose advisory services continue to support notch users. notch also runs partner programmes for consultancies and solution providers.

Closing Insights

notch originated from climate consultancy CBN Expert, which had built a client base of more than 900 organisations before launching a second-generation platform under the notch brand. The company positions the software as activity-based carbon accounting aligned with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, in contrast to spend-based approaches, and combines this with an embedded carbon planning module and partner-led delivery. Organisations such as ZE Global, Crisp Malt, Brightly Software, Drax and the National Federation of Builders are cited as users, alongside firms like Scott Direct that report both emissions reductions and operational savings through the platform.

Recent developments include a growing partner ecosystem with energy and advisory providers such as SystemsLink and Optima Energy Systems, as well as a strategic partnership with Nature Broking for nature-based carbon credits. notch offers a published software-only licence at £462 plus VAT per year, alongside full-support and strategy packages priced to business size and reporting breadth. For organisations seeking structured, activity-based carbon accounting with access to advisory expertise, notch may be a platform to consider.