SME Climate Hub: how to commit and report as a UK small business

The SME Climate Hub is a free global initiative where small and medium-sized businesses make a public climate commitment. From 2026, new signatories pledge to halve their greenhouse gas emissions within ten years, reach net zero before 2050 and report progress every year. Committing takes a short form. The part that needs real figures is the annual report, which asks for your Scope 1 and location-based Scope 2 emissions, energy use, calculation method and a base year.

If you have just signed, or are thinking about it, here is what you are agreeing to and how to have every number ready in good time.

What is the SME Climate Hub?

The SME Climate Hub is an initiative of the We Mean Business Coalition, run in partnership with the Exponential Roadmap Initiative and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions’ Race to Zero campaign. In June 2026 it announced that more than 10,000 businesses had signed its commitment.

It is open to businesses and non-profits with up to 500 employees, and joining is free. Signatories are recognised by the UN Climate Change Global Climate Action portal for having ambition in line with the global Race to Zero campaign.

It is a commitment, not a certification. Nobody audits your footprint before you sign, and you do not need one to join. You do need one within a year.

What does the SME Climate Commitment ask you to do?

The pledge depends on when you signed.

	Signed from 2026	Signed before 2026
Near-term goal	Halve emissions within ten years	Halve emissions before 2030
Recommendation	Aim to halve Scope 1 and 2 within five years	None stated
Long-term goal	Net zero before 2050	Net zero before 2050
Disclosure	Report progress every year	Report progress every year

The Hub says existing commitments do not change, though it is exploring a way for businesses to re-confirm their commitment every five years.

For most UK small businesses, halving within ten years is realistic once you know where your emissions come from. Our guide to net zero for small businesses shows how to turn the pledge into a dated plan.

How do you make the SME Climate Commitment?

Signing up is short and free. On the commitment page you fill in a form with your business details and confirm the pledge. The Hub reviews each application by hand, which usually takes a few working days, and once approved your business appears on its public list of committed SMEs.

Before you click submit, check three things:

• Someone owns it. A director or the owner should agree to the pledge, because the business is committing to report every year.
• You can measure within 12 months. Your first report needs real figures, so plan when you will calculate your footprint.
• Your reporting period is settled. Using your financial year or the calendar year makes every later report easier.

You do not need a target date already worked out or a footprint in hand. Those come with the first report.

What do you have to report, and when?

Your first progress report is due 12 months after you commit. After that, the Hub has an annual reporting deadline of 1 October, and you can ask for a 6-month extension if you need it.

The mandatory questions cover five areas:

1. General company information: reporting period, annual revenue and number of employees.
2. Commitment and targets: your net zero and near-term target years, base year and baseline emissions. The base year must be 2019 or later.
3. Own emissions: Scope 1 and location-based Scope 2 emissions, your calculation method and your energy consumption.
4. Plan and actions to reduce emissions.
5. Progress and challenges in reducing emissions.

Scope 3 figures are optional but highly recommended. Bear in mind that the data you submit is published on the Hub’s website, so treat it with the same care as anything else you put your name to publicly.

How does an ESG Now report cover the SME Climate Hub questions?

Every mandatory emissions figure is in your ESG Now report, along with the context around it.

SME Climate Hub asks for	Where to find it
Reporting period and employees	About you and this report
Annual revenue	Your own accounts
Scope 1 emissions	Your carbon footprint
Location-based Scope 2 emissions	Your carbon footprint (market-based is shown alongside)
Energy consumption	Your carbon footprint, in kWh
Calculation method	Methodology and appendices: GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, operational control, UK Government conversion factors and factor year
Base year, baseline emissions and targets	Commitments and next steps
Plan and actions	Commitments and next steps, plus your private action plan
Progress	Next year’s report, compared with your base year

The Scope 3 extras are there too, should you choose to report them: flights, rail, staff mileage, taxis, hotel nights, commuting, homeworking, waste, water, couriers, well-to-tank and transmission losses, and an optional spend-based estimate of purchased goods and services. Each line is labelled measured, estimated or a data gap, which makes the method question easy to answer honestly.

The questionnaire also records SME Climate Hub membership in the governance section, alongside certifications such as ISO 14001 and Cyber Essentials, so it appears in your report when buyers ask what commitments you have made.

How long will yours take?

Pick the option that sounds most like your business. You will see a realistic time, what to have nearby and a head start on the questions.

Which sounds most like you?

Sole trader working from homeConsultants, designers, developers, coaches10 to 15 minSole trader or freelancer in a co-working spaceA desk at a WeWork, Regus or local hub10 to 15 minSmall team in a co-working or serviced officeStartups and agencies with 2 to 25 people15 to 20 minSME with its own office and no vehiclesProfessional services, tech firms, studios20 to 30 minSME with vans, cars or regular staff travelTrades, field services, consultancies on the road30 to 45 minShop, cafe, workshop or product businessRetail, hospitality, makers and manufacturers30 to 45 min

Your estimate

Pick the option closest to your business and we will tell you how long it takes and what to have ready.

Most small businesses finish in under 30 minutes. Sole traders are often done in 10.

How do you use your first year as the base year?

Your first full footprint becomes your carbon baseline. Pick a 12-month period that reflects normal trading, and keep the same period for every year after.

Say your 2026 footprint is 12.0 tCO2e, of which 7.0 tonnes is Scope 1 and 2. Signing from 2026, your goal is roughly 6.0 tonnes by 2036, and the Hub’s recommendation would have you aim for 3.5 tonnes of Scope 1 and 2 by 2031. Those numbers are concrete enough to plan around: a boiler replacement, an electric van at lease end, a rail-first travel policy.

Three habits keep the comparison fair:

• Keep the boundary the same. If you add a new source later, such as commuting, add it to the base year too, or note the difference.
• Show kWh alongside tonnes. The UK grid electricity factor fell by about 26% in the 2026 conversion factors, so electricity emissions can drop with no effort from you. Your kWh shows what you actually changed.
• Close data gaps early. Swapping an estimate for a measured figure can move your numbers. Doing it in year one keeps later changes meaningful.

How do you write the plan and progress sections?

Keep them short and specific. List three to five actions with dates, such as “switch to a REGO-backed tariff at our March renewal” or “replace the diesel van with an electric model when the lease ends in 2028”. A REGO tariff lowers your market-based electricity figure, but the Hub asks for location-based Scope 2, so cutting the kWh you use matters too.

For challenges, be candid. Many small firms rent their premises and cannot change the heating themselves, or find electric vans out of reach this year. Saying so is useful, and the Hub’s own guidance expects progress to vary from year to year.

Does the SME Climate Hub help with tenders and customers?

It is a recognised signal and a good answer to the common supplier questionnaire question, “Have you made a public climate commitment?” It does not replace a Carbon Reduction Plan for central government contracts under PPN 006. ESG Now gives you the footprint, baseline and figures needed to complete one, and our PPN 006 guide explains the rest.

Describe it accurately. “We have made the SME Climate Commitment to halve our emissions within ten years and reach net zero before 2050” is precise. Calling yourself “net zero certified” is not, and our greenwashing entry explains why it matters.

Get your figures ready

The commitment takes minutes. The report is easier than it looks once you have a proper footprint. ESG Now asks plain-English questions about your premises, energy, vehicles, travel and team, skips anything that does not apply and saves your answers as you go. An office business usually finishes in 20 to 30 minutes, and one with vans in 30 to 45.

Your first report is free, with no card needed. Start your report and you will have your base year figures well before your first deadline.