Public Bodies Go to Market for Carbon Accounting Platforms and Net Zero Support
A new software and consultancy tender shows how public bodies are building detailed carbon data, mirroring a wider shift to digital tools for climate reporting.
A new software and consultancy tender shows how public bodies are building detailed carbon data, mirroring a wider shift to digital tools for climate reporting.
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The Science Museum Group has gone to market for a new carbon accounting platform that couples detailed emissions tracking with strategic advice on net zero. Published on 30th December 2025, the contract shows how cultural institutions are turning to structured data and specialist support to understand their climate impact and plan meaningful decarbonisation.
In a contract notice for a carbon accounting platform and associated consultancy, the Science Museum Group sets out a specification that goes well beyond a simple calculator. The buyer wants a single system that can log activity data, apply recognised emission factors, capture supporting evidence and commentary, and keep a full audit trail while aligning with greenhouse gas reporting frameworks.
According to the notice, the software should:
The emphasis on data consistency across various platforms suggests the Group wants to bring information from different systems into a coherent view. The in-built emission factor database points to a desire to reduce manual calculations and standardise assumptions, while the audit trail requirement shows that traceability is central to how emissions data will be handled.
The brief goes further than measurement. By asking for strategic consultancy on net zero targets and scenario analysis capabilities, the Science Museum Group is signalling that it wants a partner who can help turn raw carbon data into decisions about pathways and priorities. The platform is expected not only to record emissions but to test different futures and support long-term planning.
Other parts of the public sector are moving in a similar direction. In September 2025, the Government Actuary's Department issued a prior information notice for an economic and climate data service, seeking an economic scenario generator and climate scenarios, with optional asset liability modelling software starting from Q4 2025/26. That was followed in December 2025 by a contract notice for economic and climate scenario data services to support actuarial work across the public sector. Together with the museum procurement, these notices show how scenario analysis is becoming a routine part of how public bodies think about climate risk and net zero.
Several major buyers are now commissioning centralised sustainability data services. In October 2025, the Ministry of Justice published a prior information notice for a managed sustainability data and reporting service, aiming to deliver accurate information for a range of internal and external reporting requirements. The ministry wants a service that can manage data collection from multiple sources and support analysis and visualisation, mirroring the Science Museum Group's desire for consistency, evidence and commentary in its own system.
Local and regional governments are also investing in dedicated platforms. In August 2025, Westminster City Council went to market for a digital platform to review Whole Life Carbon Assessments linked to planning applications, with unlimited user licences, compliance checks, a visual dashboard, collaboration tools, and ongoing support and training.
Across Germany, climate data systems are being built at state and city level. In July 2025, the Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt sought a data collection and reporting system for greenhouse gas balances and reduction paths to help the Bavarian State Administration achieve climate neutrality. The state of Schleswig-Holstein followed in August 2025 with a tender for internet-based software licences for standardised energy and greenhouse gas accounting for municipalities. In September 2025, the Landesamt für Natur, Umwelt und Klima NRW issued a notice for a web-based data collection, balancing and reporting system on greenhouse gas emissions and climate neutrality for the North Rhine-Westphalia state administration, while in December 2025 the city of Munich launched a tender for a software-as-a-service solution to collect and manage the city's climate data, including a city licence for unlimited users and ongoing service maintenance.
Elsewhere in Europe, specialist agencies and companies are upgrading their emissions data. In September 2025, Norway's Miljødirektoratet sought assistance with emission calculations for the road traffic sector in municipal climate gas accounts, feeding into the National Emission System. In October 2025, Société nationale SNCF issued a notice for solutions to measure and reduce the environmental impact of its digital technology, with tools to manage data on computer fleets, mobile devices, server equipment and applications. And in July 2025, the Holding Graz Group launched a tender for sustainability reporting software to facilitate preparation of the comprehensive report required by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
Alongside these organisation-wide platforms, many buyers are commissioning carbon calculators tailored to particular sectors. In November 2025, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland sought a supplier to administer and maintain a Carbon Calculator for farm businesses, helping agricultural enterprises assess and reduce their carbon footprints.
Also in November 2025, VisitScotland released a notice for an independently verified carbon calculator for tourism and event businesses, designed as a freely accessible tool to support Climate Action Plans. Ireland’s media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, meanwhile, went to market for a carbon calculator and verification system to track and report on the environmental sustainability performance of TV and film production in Ireland, providing accurate emissions data to underpin sustainability recommendations.
Faith-based and regional institutions are also commissioning detailed greenhouse gas analyses. In August 2025, the Diözesan-Caritasverband für das Erzbistum Köln e.V. issued a notice for the preparation of greenhouse gas balances for up to 86 social organisations, with the goal of supporting climate protection and systematic emissions reduction. That same month, the Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur published a contract notice for maintenance and additional development of the Interreg Euro-MED programme's Carbon Footprint Calculation Tool, underlining the need to sustain and refine established tools as climate programmes evolve.
Many of these procurements acknowledge that effective carbon accounting depends on people as much as platforms. In July 2025, Essex County Council issued a prior information notice for interactive training materials on carbon and sustainability, seeking a comprehensive package that would help budget-holding staff understand carbon management, sustainability and regulatory compliance. Westminster City Council folded ongoing support and training into its Whole Life Carbon platform plans, while the tenders from North Rhine-Westphalia and Munich combine web-based systems with long-term service, maintenance and user support.
The Science Museum Group's specification fits squarely within this trend. As well as the technical features, the buyer wants performance commentary, data evidence uploads, strategic consultancy for net zero targets and a detailed audit trail. Together, these elements point to an approach in which emissions data is gathered, interpreted and governed so that it supports decision-making and assurance, rather than sitting in isolated spreadsheets.
Viewed together, the late-2025 notices reveal a set of common themes in how public bodies are approaching climate work:
For the Science Museum Group, the new carbon accounting platform is positioned to become a central tool in how it measures and manages its greenhouse gas emissions. For suppliers and other public institutions, the notice adds to evidence that demand is growing for integrated solutions that pair strong carbon accounting capabilities with usable insights and support for the people expected to act on the numbers.
As more public bodies procure carbon accounting software, sustainability data services and specialised calculators, greenhouse gas information is being treated less as an optional annex and more as core business data. How effectively these systems are embedded in day-to-day decision-making, and whether they help to accelerate real-world emissions reduction, will be key points to watch in the years ahead.
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