- An SME is almost never required to produce a carbon footprint (the obligation starts at 500 employees), but it has more and more to gain from it.
- You start with a simple boundary, the data already available and the public Base Empreinte factors.
- You cover scopes 1 and 2 and the obvious scope 3 categories first, then refine year after year.
- The footprint is only a starting point: it is the action plan that turns it into results and sales arguments.
Does an SME have to produce a carbon footprint?
Legally, no, in most cases. The regulatory obligation (BEGES) starts at 500 employees, as detailed in our article on the mandatory carbon footprint (BEGES). Below that, the process is voluntary. ADEME still encourages a simplified version of the footprint for companies with 50 to 500 employees.
But the obligation is no longer the real driver. Your clients now assess their suppliers on climate, through EcoVadis or CDP questionnaires, and without carbon data you lose points, sometimes even access to certain tenders. Add the energy savings that the measurement reveals, and the footprint becomes a management tool, not a constraint. We build on the general framework presented in our article on the company carbon footprint.
Where do you start as an SME?
With the simplest thing that is useful. The right sequence for a first footprint:
- Set a clear boundary: your entity, your sites, a reference year.
- Gather what you already have: energy bills, fuel, purchase accounting, travel.
- Calculate a first footprint with public emission factors, estimating the missing categories. The step-by-step method is in our article on how to calculate your carbon footprint.
- Identify the biggest categories and make them your action priorities.
- Note the data you lacked, to collect it better the following year.
This fifth step is often forgotten, and it is the one that drives progress. During the calculation, you will inevitably run into missing data: the carbon information from your suppliers, thin at small organizations but not nonexistent, or physical data that no one recorded, such as the quantities of refrigerant refilled during maintenance work. Record them as you go. The next footprint then starts from an organized collection, not from a new hunt for information.
The goal of a first footprint is not perfection, but a sound base that you will refine year after year.
What budget for an SME carbon footprint?
It depends on the level you aim for. A first footprint can be done in-house on a spreadsheet, at the sole cost of the time spent, provided you have had a minimum of training. Through a platform, expect on the order of €2,000 to €5,000 per year according to ADEME; through a consulting firm, around €10,000 for a full supported footprint. Support schemes exist, such as the Diag Décarbon'Action for companies with fewer than 500 employees. The detail is in our article on the cost of a carbon footprint.
Should you get support?
Not necessarily, but it often pays off for a first cycle. An SME usually does not have a dedicated carbon team, and a first footprint stumbles less on the calculation than on the decisions: boundary, categories with no data, scope 3 priorities. Support avoids errors and saves time. What matters is what you are left with: favor a formula that lets you run it yourself in the next cycle, rather than a service to redo every year. The choice between tool and support is developed in our article on carbon accounting software.
How do you move from footprint to action plan?
By treating the footprint as a starting point, not as a deliverable. Once the biggest categories are identified, you weigh them against the effort required and start with the accessible, high-impact gains. Then you set a quantified target and track your progress from one year to the next. The whole process is detailed in our article on reducing your carbon footprint. It is this follow-up, the action plan, that turns your footprint into results and sales arguments.
Produce your first footprint with Ditto
Ditto is built for small teams, often one or two people who steer the topic on top of their day job: the platform centralizes your data, applies Base Empreinte factors, structures your scopes and your action plan, and a dedicated coach teaches you the method so you can run it yourself afterward. The same data serves your EcoVadis assessments and your CDP responses, so you measure once and put it to use everywhere. And for a first footprint, a platform like Ditto saves time, but a clear boundary and public emission factors are enough to get a first footprint off the ground.
Kick off your SME carbon footprint
A Ditto expert takes stock with you of your boundary, your priorities and your next steps.
SME carbon footprint: key takeaways
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Obligation | No below 500 employees; voluntary but increasingly expected |
| Where to start | Simple boundary, data already available, public emission factors |
| Budget | Spreadsheet (time), platform ≈ €2,000-€5,000/year, consulting firm ≈ €10,000, support available |
| Support | Useful for the first cycle; aim to run it yourself afterward |
| Follow-up | Action plan on the biggest categories, quantified target, annual tracking |
Frequently asked questions
Is an SME required to produce a carbon footprint?
No in most cases: the legal obligation (BEGES) starts at 500 employees. Below that, the process is voluntary, but increasingly expected by customers and lenders, and ADEME encourages a simplified version for companies with 50 to 500 employees.
How much does a carbon footprint cost for an SME?
From a free spreadsheet (at the cost of internal time) to around €2,000 to €5,000 per year through a platform, according to ADEME, and around €10,000 for a full footprint supported by a consulting firm. Support schemes such as the Diag Décarbon'Action reduce the bill for companies with fewer than 500 employees.
Where do you start a carbon footprint at an SME?
With a simple boundary (your entity, a reference year), the data already available (energy, fuel, purchases, travel) and public emission factors. You cover scopes 1 and 2 first and the obvious scope 3 categories, then refine. Also remember to note the data you lacked (supplier information, refrigerant refilled) to organize collection for the next footprint.
How do you move from footprint to action plan?
By ranking the biggest categories revealed by the footprint, starting with the accessible, high-impact gains, then setting a quantified target and tracking progress each year. The footprint is the starting point, the action plan is what produces the results.
